


Reborn

by hakatri (singvogel)



Category: Forgotten Realms
Genre: Dubious Consent, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-11-06
Updated: 2017-09-04
Packaged: 2017-11-18 02:39:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 21
Words: 58,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/555964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/singvogel/pseuds/hakatri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At the beginning of the time of Lolth's silence the drider Dinin stumbles upon a priest of Vhaeraun. The two strike a deal and set out to wreak havoc on the surface. </p><p>This story used to have a different ending, but I'm busy reworking it. The original version can still be found on FF.net. So for those who already know the first part: Just skip to chapter 13 straight away.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> MICHAEL: If anything in this life is certain, if history has taught us anything, it is that you can kill anyone.
> 
> Mario Puzo (1920-1999) American novelist, screenwriter  
> The Godfather (screenplay with Francis Coppola) (1972)

**C**

**Prologue**

**The rebirth**

**C**

 

 

The cave lay in near silence, its stony tranquility only disturbed by a faint sound of leaves brushed by the impatient winds of spring and an occasional chirping of birds, which intruded from the brightly lit lands on the outside of this quiet, nearly lightless world of greys and blacks. Even the slender figure in the dark cloak made no noise as it picked its hasty way along the sharp edges of the rough cave wall, always clinging to the darker shadows, throwing nervous glances backwards. But that silence was soon to be broken when two others appeared not far behind, followed closely by an ungainly, awkward shape that resembled a huge spider, which had somehow sprouted the bloated and deformed upper body of a drow.

“El og'elend!”

The shrill voice cut through the air, effectively stopping the fleeing one, although nothing followed. No sudden burst of lightning hit him, no unseen force threw him down, there was just the voice. This seemed to surprise both sides in equal measure, but the lone figure recovered a bit faster, taking the chance to jump behind the next available cover before shouting with a distinctly male voice: “Come and get me then you spider kissing bitches!”

Immediately afterwards he began to prepare one of the few spells he had left, praying all the while that another miracle would happen to keep him alive long enough to get away once again. He had escaped them before, had even managed to reduce their numbers more and more, until only the two priestesses and that abominable drider remained. But their unceasing, fanatical chase had tired him out and worn away most of his defences to a dangerously low level.

This time, on the brink of escape to the wide open lands of the night above there would be no running. This time a final decision was unavoidable.

“Vhaeraun preserve me”, he mumbled and released his last bolt of lightning. Only to nearly have his mouth drop open in surprise when a muffled groan indicated that he had actually hit and maybe even done damage to one of the priestesses. It seemed their own defences were crumbling as well. Maybe it was finally time to pit Vhaeraun's powers against those of Lolth in a last deciding battle.

He decided to risk a look and cautiously raised his head a tiny bit above the cover of rough, damp smelling stone. What he saw was encouraging, but exceptionally strange as well. Obviously one of the priestesses was lying on the cold cave floor, struggling with the effects of the lightning, which was odd in itself, because he had already seen her take more than that with nothing but an enraged snarl. The other though was circling the drider who had raised his own weapons as if about to attack her.

Deciding that the newest turn of events should be used to the best of his advantage he quickly took his already strung bow and aimed one of the last arrows at the twitching woman on the ground, congratulating himself when it struck true and embedded itself cleanly in her neck, effectively stilling her forever. The long ranged weapon was slightly unusual for someone from the Underdark, but he had taken it along in preparation for things to come and it had even saved his life once or twice already during the long and exhausting flight.

A flight which was going to end here it seemed. The reality of a drider battling a priestess of Lolth was a baffling spectacle and one he had never expected to see at that. For a creature that was normally under the full control of Lolth's servants it should have been impossible to do so, but his own eyes were clearly telling him differently. Accepting this weird stroke of luck he decided with a shrug of slender shoulders to simply sit back and enjoy the show. Whoever got out of that fight would be tired, probably wounded and thus considerably weakened. Not that he would be very sorry to see them both die in the end. But fighting one enemy instead of three was still an improvement and nothing to scoff at.

As he watched them trade ringing blows he noticed another oddity. Instead of finishing her untrustworthy servant with a well placed spell, the priestess limited herself to a purely physical fight, forgoing one of her greatest advantages. Something was wrong there, before he could figure out what it was though she stumbled and lost her balance for a second providing the opening the drider needed to open a deep cut on her hip. From there it was only a matter of minutes. Minutes he used wisely to prepare another spell, which would freeze the ghastly creature should it decide to attack him next.

The attack never came. Instead, after spitting on the mutilated body of the last priestess, the thing dropped its axe and looked straight at him, features splattered with blood, but with strangely calm and shining eyes that made him hesitate for a moment. This was not the expression of a mad creature controlled and oppressed by the Spider Queen, but of someone who had made a decision and was resigned to his fate.

 _Finish it._ Signed the drider silently. _I don't want to live like this._

He raised a slender white brow.

“Begging for death so you can be nearer to your beloved spider queen?” He asked caustically. “I don't think she'll be very happy after what you just did.”

“Lolth is silent.” Said the drider with dark satisfaction. “She is gone. Abandoning her precious followers to be ripped apart by their enemies.”

“Silent?” The fugitive echoed dumbfounded, still halting his spell. The idea of the ever present Lolth simply not being there was quite hard to digest for someone who had grown up in Menzoberranzan, a city where this particular deity was worshipped with nearly unparalleled devotion.

“Gone?” He asked confused. “What do you mean “gone”?”

“If I tell you this, will you give me the clean death I desire?” The other seemed irritated with his sudden inquisitive questioning.

“Probably.”

A disgusted sigh followed.

“She is gone. As to where or why, I don't know, but I cannot feel her disgusting presence anymore and neither could her servants.” A bloody hand gestured to the remains of the two dead women. “That is all I know”, he continued after the fugitive still made no move to kill him. In fact said fugitive was thinking furiously. If Lolth was really gone, then what did that mean for her followers? The powers she normally granted would quite possibly be inaccessible now. The ever watchful presence was not there, leaving them without supervision and guidance, while Vhaeraun was still present as he felt deeply in his heart this very moment. Would it not please him if...

“You know...” he started to say slowly even while the thought was forming in his head. “maybe there is a much better way to deal with this.”

“Which would be?” Came the doubting question.

“Well, since I'm a priest of considerable power myself, let us say I was to ask my Lord for help on your behalf, suggesting that he give me the power to take from Lolth what is hers and turn you back into a true Drow...” he let this tempting idea trail out suggestively and added pleasantly. “If you decline, I can of course still heed your initial wish and kill you.”

“You...you could really do that?”

The desperate hope in these words was almost enough to move a more sentimental being to tears, but since these two were Drow it merely betrayed a certain amount of vulnerability and produced an arrogant smile on the face of the fugitive priest.

“Why yes of course I could. I must warn you though. The process might not be very pleasant.”

“I don't care!”

 

`die - el`

`traitor - og'elend`

 


	2. The Change

  
**C**   
**The change**   
**C**   


 

“Is this really necessary Tezan?”

The drider eyed the ropes with very obvious dislike.

“It is.” The priest told him firmly for the fourth or fifth time since they had begun this. Getting the other to take off his armour initially had actually been easy compared to this continued questioning of his methods. It was grating on his nerves, causing his next words to be delivered quite sharply and literally dripping with impatience. “If you, out of your mind with searing pain, suddenly decide that it was not such a good idea after all to agree to this I do not want to be ripped apart and die a messy death in this dreadful place, when I have just barely managed to escape the spider's slavering bloodhounds, so we will do it this way or not at all.”

Silent, but still glaring the other finally held out his hands to be bound and gave no resistance when his legs were quickly and efficiently tied together as well, leaving him in a very vulnerable position lying on his side on the hard, stone cold ground.

“Considering your willingness to be killed just a few minutes ago I would have expected a little more compliance you know”, Tezan complained when he received another dark look as he stepped away to survey his work.

“To die in battle is honourable”, was the icy response, “but to be killed like this, tied up and lying on my back, now that is just disgraceful.”

“Ah, I see”, said the priest a slight, mocking smile on his lips. “Warrior to the bone, aren't you.”

Having been brought up and trained as a mage himself, he had also adopted the belief of most magic users, who saw themselves as superior to all warriors. He received only a deep, angry growl in response to his taunting though. With a shrug Tezan turned and selected a suitable spot to settle himself in order to begin his prayer for guidance.

“Before we start now”, he addressed the crumpled, malformed heap in front of him. “In order to be able to do anything for you, I need to know your name . And you had better tell me the truth mind you or this won't work at all.”

“Dinin Do'Urden.”

Tezan's dark red eyes widened at the clipped and rather unexpected answer. Of course he knew that surname, there was hardly any Drow in Menzoberranzan who didn't. An entire army had once been sent to capture Drizzt Do'urden, who was likely a sibling of the misshapen being lying there on the ground. The whole city had been shaken the day the battered army came back with tales of defeat, the legendary matron mother Baenre, who had practically ruled the whole city for centuries, ironically killed by a mere dwarf. Of course with Lolth gone the city probably had far more pressing problems right now Tezan mused distractedly before he resolutely turned his thoughts back to the present.

“Do'Urden?” He repeated curiously. “You...”

“Don't ask!” hissed the drider venomously, chitinous legs clicking together in agitated anger. Suddenly glad for the ropes the priest regarded him for a moment, debating whether this bit of information was interesting enough to warrant further probing. No, he decided, the time for that would come later. It might even prove to be an amusing pastime to try and pry the tale from the intriguing male once he was turned back to his old form.

“Very well then”, he conceded. “I will begin now. If there is anything you wish to say, you should do it beforehand as I will not be interrupted later on.”

Tezan paused, but once again received only another hard glare, so he just shrugged and started to immerse himself in the glory that was Vhaeraun. The circumstances were not the best of course, with him being quite tired already and the additional strain of being in unfamiliar and probably less than secure surroundings didn't really help either, but he was determined to complete this act, which he perceived as the appropriate starting point for a new beginning in the world of the night above. The sheer satisfaction Tezan felt at the thought of stealing from the spider Queen, even something as inconsequential as a single drider, made all exhaustion seem bearable.

In the end it took much longer than expected though and left him on the verge of collapse. As he gasped out the last words of a spell granted to him by his Lord he could already feel a slight trickle of blood running from his nose, testimony to his current, dangerously low level of strength and endurance. I'm going to pass out! He realized with quite a bit of panic as darkness started to creep in slowly from the sides of his vision. To be left at the mercy of this newly resurrected Drow was not quite what he'd had in mind when starting this. Even if the other was just as weak and exhausted from the painful change, it would not be to his advantage to fall unconscious right now with all the other new and unknown dangers of the surface world lurking just outside the cave.

With a determined growl he fought back the dizziness, pushed himself upright and took some deep breaths, trying to clear his head enough to see whether the mysterious Do'urden had survived the gruelling process. He had it seemed, and was alive enough to be moaning and twitching on the ground, disorientated and naked as the day he was born. He looked unharmed and surprisingly well nourished as far as Tezan could tell, not an unpleasant sight at all he noted with interest, eyes gliding over the dark skinned form on the ground while, to his great relief, the dark specs in his vision finally began to recede. How would that one look spread out on a proper bed, he wondered. How would he feel squirming under his hands?

A second later he shook his head. Now is not the time for such things, he admonished himself sternly and with a last lingering gaze stepped up to the two corpses, to see whether there was anything salvageable left, which was not yet ruined by blood and gore, to provide clothing and weapons for his new companion. What he came up with in the end was not as much as he had hoped for, but it was still better than nothing. There were their weapons, the only slightly bloody shirt and chain mail of the priestess he had shoot in the neck and her tight fitted trousers, which would have to be cleaned before anybody could wear those, since they were soiled with the urine she had released in her death. He assumed though, that they would fit the much slighter and smaller male despite being so closely tailored to a woman's shape.

The boots of either woman would probably be too big as well, but they would have to suffice for the time being. When he turned around, looking up from the precious arrow he had patiently been trying to dislodge from the priestesses' neck Dinin had finally managed to sit up, even though he was still swaying like a reed in the wind, red eyes slightly unfocused. He appeared to have some problems adjusting to the fact that now there were only two legs instead of the usual eight he had had to coordinate. Nonetheless one could clearly see elation spreading on his face when he slowly ran unbelieving fingers along thighs and feet, as if to make sure they were really there. His actions did of course send Tezan's thoughts flying back to his earlier, rather suggestive musings.

“You know,” he drawled, “if you continue that I might find myself wanting to join you.”

His words drew a startled look from the other, who after a few seconds responded with a very discouraging grimace that clearly told of his negative thoughts on the matter. At the same time he was obviously trying to inconspicuously search for the nearest weapon, a move which was not lost on the priest.

“The idea does not seem to appeal to you”, he remarked lightly, trying to get a verbal reaction to confirm his guess.

“No”, Dinin answered very bluntly, muscles tensing a bit more. “It does not.”

The possibility that Tezan might very well simply force him to submit to his wishes hung heavy in the air, but in a position so vulnerable and exposed there was hardly anything Dinin could do against it, except stating his wishes clearly and hoping that they would be heeded. The whole situation was not to his liking, but after expending so much energy on him, he was very much aware that Tezan would probably see it as his right to demand something in return.

For a second the priest was actually tempted to do exactly that, but he quickly reconsidered. If he left Dinin alone now he could gain more. To have a willing ally was better than dragging someone along who had to be watched constantly, because he had been forced into servitude. And to have the warrior watch his back while he was casting spells would be beneficial for them both in the likely case of an attack by surface dwellers. Having made his decision he announced with a shrug: “Well, I guess you're lucky then, that unlike most women I prefer my partners willing.”

The words were only half true, but they flowed smoothly over his lips, despite the short inward sigh of regret. A sigh which was repeated when he threw the clothes he had dragged off the corpse, at Dinin, who was busy scowling suspiciously at his easy escape and nearly fell backwards trying to catch the shirt, while still remaining upright. Sadly all that enticing black skin would soon be covered. At that thought he could not help voicing his lingering hope.

“If you should change your opinion though...”

“I'll be sure to let you know”, Dinin inserted in a tone, which made it quite obvious that such a change would not occur. “What did you plan on doing once you had reached the surface?” He continued with sudden curiosity, apparently eager to change the topic.

Tezan shrugged. Apart from escaping his pursuers he had not yet had the time to make any concrete plans. His discovery had been surprising to say the least and so he had only been able to make little more than the most rudimentary preparations. The first and foremost goal of staying alive had kept him quite busy in the time afterwards, so that now, when presented with the question about his future he couldn't do more than say: “I thought I might try to enjoy myself for once and have a look around before I decide anything.”

As a reply that was hardly satisfying, a fact which showed clearly on Dinin's doubtful face. Put in the defensive and not liking it one bit he added: “I will not force you to accompany me, although I must say that it'd certainly be better for us if we kept together, but if you wish to turn back and try to find your way back to a city which has probably lost most of its fighting power due to a fickle Goddess's whims... well good luck to you then.”

“So you're bent on staying up here instead of doing the sensible thing and turn back to some other city like Ched Nasad or even Sshamath?”  
He didn't sound very happy about the prospect of a prolonged stay in the sunlight exposed lands of open plains and forests crawling with unfamiliar enemies.

“As I said,” Tezan remarked arrogantly, “you don't have to come.”

Dinin merely glared at him, knowing full well that he stood little chance to reach any city in the Underdark travelling alone and without proper equipment. He threw up his hands in a final gesture of exasperation and turned his attention towards more pressing things like putting on the ill fitting clothes and weapons Tezan had thrown at him. He gave the soiled trousers a sour look and put them aside, even though he debated for a moment whether wearing them would be preferable to a continued exposition to Tezan's gaze. He didn't want to tempt him more than necessary, but in the end he decided that the long spidersilk cloak would have to suffice for now. There were more than a few drops of blood on it as well, but nothing so repulsive as urine.

“Have you been up here before?” the priest asked, wiping the arrow he had finally torn free on the last bit of cloth on the corpse at his feet, that was still reasonably clean.

“Only once during a raid for the academy”, Dinin admitted, quickly pulling the chain mail over his head. “We did not linger though and left as soon as that disgusting, blindingly bright ball of fire appeared.”

“I think it's called the sun.”

“Whatever.”

Somehow the memory of that raid seemed to induce a sudden sullenness in the strange Do'urden. Dinin still remembered the day as one of glorious slaughter that should have ensured the continued favour of the Spider Queen for his house. Instead his brother had done the unthinkable and spared one of their victims, thus invoking the wrath of their Goddess on the whole family. A deed which had cost Dinin his house, his relatively powerful position as a noble and in the end even his true form when he had refused to accompany his mad sister on a chase for the elusive sibling he had come to fear as the most skilled fighter he had ever seen. As far as he knew Drizzt was still living on the surface. One more reason to depart as quickly as possible!

“We will rest here until it is dark enough for us to go outside. I think you will need some time to get used to the changes you went through and I have to study some spells, so we should be able to make good use of the time.”

Tezan's voice intruded on his uncomfortable thoughts. The fighter nodded and made his first attempt to get up, which was harder than he had expected. His balance seemed off after so many years of wearing a different shape. He fought down the beginnings of panic as he held on to the nearest rock to keep from falling and told himself firmly that all he needed was time to recover, but the thought of being helpless scared him nonetheless. If he lost his usefulness as a warrior the priest might still decide to force him to obey his other wishes.

After a few hours it became easier though and after realizing this, he was confident that he would have his old agility and strength back soon. Deciding that rest was indeed the best option now he settled down, with his back against the cool cave wall and a dagger in his lap, to get a few hours of reverie before they would depart and venture out in the unknown lands of the surface world.


	3. Journey

“Where do we turn now?” Dinin asked softly, looking out over the seemingly endless expanse of trees and sloping hills that stretched out before him. The rough, spiky mountains in his back changing into a gradually flattening woodland. The very fact that he had to ask and rely on Tezan's knowledge made him even more irritable than the nagging feeling of exposure under this wide, star dotted sky. The priest didn't answer at first, but instead pulled out a crumpled piece of parchment, which proved to be a rather crude map.

“I don't know for sure where we are”, he admitted, “but judging by what I remember from my earlier studies, I think this area would be a good possibility.”

A black skinned finger jabbed at a random point on the map. At least it seemed random to Dinin, to whom the unfamiliar names and strange marks didn't really make much sense at all. He remained silent, waiting for Tezan to elaborate, which he did after a few thoughtful looks at the confusing blots of brown, blue and green.

“If my assumptions are correct”, he said, “we are not so far from one of the bigger cities named Waterdeep.”

The name sounded strange and exotic to Drow ears as it was spoken in Common, but Dinin merely shrugged. As long as they got moving before long he was satisfied.

“I think I want to see the big lake they call the sea. Waterdeep apparently has a busy harbour from where we could move on to any other location, should we be able to find a ship that will take us.”

Tezan pointed at a large stain of pale, worn out blue.

“The sea?” His companion asked curiosity awakened in spite of his growing wish to get going, if only to find a river where he could finally clean the clothes they had taken. “How big is it?”

“From what I have read it is enormous. No one knows for sure”, the priest explained, “but it is said to be quite a magnificent sight and with all the activities going on in the city it shouldn't be hard for us to slip in. Human senses are far too dull to notice a silent Drow in the shadows”, he stated with the arrogance customary for his race.

“How long will it take to reach this... Waterdeep?”

This time it was Tezan's turn to shrug.

“I don't know the terrain. It could be anything from two weeks to four, depending on whether or not we encounter any unexpected problems. The safest route for us would probably be to follow that river to the point where it crosses the other one, the Dessarin.”

“But you are still not sure if we are actually standing where you think we are.”

The response to that statement was a sharp glare and an airy: “We'll just have to find someone we can ask then, won't we.”

With that Tezan stalked off towards the trees, leaving Dinin to follow with a softly mumbled curse about arrogant wizards and hurried steps that still showed a slight discordance of movement. The fighter hoped that the other knew at least which direction he was currently going, but didn't want to start another argument about it. During the next few hours they moved like shadows through rustling trees, nerves taut as a bowstring. Compared to the silent tunnels of the Underdark, which were mostly filled with the monotonous sound of dripping water, this forest was very loud. Instead of the familiarity of complicated echo patterns the sounds now came from all sides, making it difficult to guess their source. The smell was very different as well, carrying traces of decaying leaves as well as those of the flowers and herbs of the late spring, mingled with the rich aroma of dark, damp soil, a combination that was unknown in the world of hard stone walls and lava ponds. The wind that was rustling through the trees made it seem as if there was incessant movement above their heads, leading their sharp eyes to try and dart in every direction at once, only to encounter nothing but more trees.

With all these disturbing factors it was no wonder that, when the two Drow finally encountered another living being they reacted with almost desperate speed. Before she had taken more than one frantic leap away from them the doe crumpled to the ground with an arrow and a dagger embedded deeply between her ribs. Cautiously Dinin crept towards the quickly dying creature, who regarded him out of panicked brown eyes and tried to move away with all the strength that was left in her bleeding body. A quick strike with his sword ended her suffering once and for all.

“Do you think we could eat it?” Was the first thing which came to Tezan's hungry mind after he had unsuccessfully strained his ears to listen for other possible foes. He had not had the chance to hunt or eat much during the last weeks, and the continued starvation was beginning to show, making his normally handsome features appear a bit too sharp for true beauty.

“It doesn't seem to have fangs or claws”, Dinin remarked, studying the corpse intently. “Maybe it is poisonous.”

In the Underdark, where almost every creature living in the wilds had some way of defence this would have been a sound assumption, but since he was unsure whether his logic applied to these lands as well Dinin made no move to stop his companion as he spoke a short spell.

“No poison”, said Tezan with satisfaction, already drawing a large knife. “A pity you killed it so fast. Living meat tastes better.”

Coming from an environment where wood was nearly nonexistent and the mushroom stalks that one could use to build a fire not always available, the Drow were quite accustomed to eating raw meat from time to time. Preferably taken from game that was not yet dead, as it was said among them that the tang of fear enhanced the flavour of the meat. They left the remains of the unfortunate animal after they had eaten what they could and moved on through the forest, persistent underbrush nipping at their cloaks and legs.

“I don't understand why anybody would want to live here. There is always something in the way wherever you turn”, Dinin complained softly as they finally crept under a broad bush with thick, dark green leaves to rest for the day. He longed for the dark tunnels of his homeland and was even more irritable than before, because his bare legs had developed a constant itch due to the numerous scratches he had acquired during the night. Unfortunately their hopes to find a river had not been fulfilled, which meant he would have to wait a bit longer before he could clothe himself fully, a fact that was made even more annoying by the cool winds that made him shiver almost constantly.

Tezan whose piwafwi was spelled to keep him comfortable in almost every situation, obviously had no such problems. He appeared rather amused instead, watching the warrior in his discomfort.

“You should be careful with the cold my friend or you might become sick”, he remarked with a smirk.

“Your concern is truly heart wrenching”, Dinin snapped back, promising himself that he would not let a little bit of cold make him crawl to the traitor priest for support. Especially not if it involved getting close enough to touch him. Later in the day though, he found himself surprisingly grateful for the warmth of the sun whose light he detested so. Even if the brightness did sting his eyes. It was difficult for both of them to find rest during the hours of light, because the level of noise increased as the sun rose and the loud, chirping cries of strange flying animals kept them glancing around in alarm and the creaking of trees in the breeze did nothing to ease their state of continued tense alertness, which went quite a bit further than the usual caution that any Drow would employ in unfamiliar terrain.

Considering the lack of rest it was no surprise that, when the sun had finally set, they continued on their way filled with wariness and insufficiently rested bodies. Tezan did find a shallow stream though after a few hours of wrestling deceptively slender branches to clear a path through the woods.

“Great!” He exclaimed with sudden enthusiasm. “A bath is just what we need now.”

And without further ado he began to take off his gear and clothing, leaving a resigned Dinin to stand watch near the bank of this small stream that was hardly bigger than a large trickle, waterline not even reaching above his knees. The fighter would definitely not bathe here. The mere thought of undressing in such a dangerous place would have been enough to deter him from doing that, even without the presence of this unnerving priest, who seemed to enjoy taunting him with his earlier refusal and was throwing him a knowing smirk even now.

“I can't believe you have the nerve to expose yourself like this”, he grumbled, but Tezan only grinned obviously very much unperturbed and splashed some of the icy water in his face.

“If you live with my beliefs under the nose of a few thousand spiderkissers for decades, you'll gain a completely new way of defining the word dangerous.”

“They did catch you eventually”, Dinin said pointedly, arms unconsciously crossed in front of him, but he received only a shrug.

“Since you were obviously caught and punished as well I don't see how that matters, seeing that we're both alive and well now, which as you might remember, was mostly my doing.”

Another splash of water followed, before Tezan continued.

“What did you do anyway, to end up like that? Refuse someone important?”

Dinin only shook his head.

“Something blasphemous then?” The cleric spat out the word with so much spiteful cynicism that his companion was actually startled into giving a verbal reaction.

“If you want to call reluctance to follow the whims of an insane priestess, who will stop at nothing to get my brother's heart on an altar blasphemous”, he stated sourly. “Who knows what goes on in the mind of a priestess.”

“You refused to join the army?” Tezan asked in surprise, as he had not expected the other to be stupid enough to do something so positively suicidal.

“Which army are you talking about?”

“The one that left for Mithral Hall and came back, disgracefully beaten by a bunch of smelly dwarves?”

The condescending tone of that question made it plain that this was an event which had clearly been impossible to miss.

“I can't remember anything like that.” For the first time Dinin sounded a bit insecure. He paused, thinking hard. “There were soldiers, but it didn't seem like an army at the time. I'm sure my sister didn't plan to...” He broke off with a gesture of frustration. “Everything is so hazy. It doesn't make sense.”

“Never mind. It is of no concern to us now”, Tezan said, waving the sings of beginning distress away with an airy motion, water flying from his fingertips, glittering in the bright light of the nearly full moon.

“It is of no concern to you, you mean”, Dinin returned crossly. The apparent gap in his memory felt like a gaping hole now that he had become aware of it. What had happened during the time of his change? The feeling that he might have missed something important caused a queasy sensation in his stomach. To every Drow knowledge was power and to have less of it than he felt he should have was nothing he could readily accept.

“Well, if you want to know that badly”, the priest answered with a leer, “I'm sure you could find a way to convince me to tell you about it.”

Despite the fact that he was currently very naked, wet and seemingly unarmed he appeared totally relaxed and unconcerned about any aggressive moves this suggestion could possibly spark in his companion. In the end it was mostly because of this that Dinin did not do more than hiss at him: “I'm sure I will find a way to convince you to keep your greedy fingers to yourself, if the need arises.” Drawing a soft sigh from Tezan.

“You have absolutely no sense of humour!” He complained, causing Dinin to snort.

“Maybe you just have to work harder before I let you see it.”

Slightly surprised, but nonetheless happy about the more playful attitude his ally had suddenly decided to adopt, Tezan merely grinned and stepped out of the freezing water, before his feet could become totally numb.

During the next few days they continued onwards without much interruption. Despite the constant and unnerving noise there seemed to be nothing very exciting in these lands. Only the annoying rain that had set in a few hours ago and had startled them badly at first, the never ending supplies of scratchy wood and dense underbrush and all kinds of small animals. Slowly Dinin began to wonder about the stories he had been told as a young boy, about dangerous creatures and evil fairies who were supposed to be lurking in the sunlit lands above his lightless home. He knew of course that they were there, had seen them with his own eyes even, but after days of meeting no living being other than a few deers, birds and rabbits he was becoming slightly paranoid, feeling as if he was constantly being watched out of unseen eyes. Tezan, who was a little less experienced when it came to matters of survival outside the well guarded city of Menzoberranzan, either felt no such thing or was more adept at hiding his sentiments.

Dinin found out about the reason for this seeming complacency after four days since they had left the cave, when his companion abruptly halted in his step and said softly: “Wait! I felt something in the outer circle.”

“Circle?” He echoed questioningly, automatically resorting to sign language even though there was little chance anybody would have heard him above the current noise of rain dripping steadily on the leaves and ground.

“I have erected a sphere around us, which is sensitive to magical emanation. The patterns are hard to read in these unusual surroundings, but I think I felt some kind of enchantment about five hundred feet ahead.”

Dinin was impressed.

“So that is how you managed to evade us for so long!” He signed, drawing a small smile from the other.

“Yes. It is far more effective when I know what to look for though”, Tezan admitted wryly, now following his example and using sign as well. “All I can tell at the moment is, that there is something ahead of us, whether it is big or small, dangerous or merely something left and forgotten, like a broken sword remains unknown to me.”

“But you deem it safe enough to go and investigate?” Asked Dinin who always preferred to know what he was facing. A short nod and the blink of an eye later the two Drow were gone, advancing with all the skill and silent stealth that marked their race as one of the most dangerous above and below ground. Accustomed to working in groups they complemented each other well in their moves as they slowly progressed towards a small clearing.


	4. New boots

Their caution was well placed, because even before they were close enough to see what lay before them they caught the scent of burnt flesh, relatively strong and fresh despite the fact that the wind wasn't blowing in their direction.

 _A fight?_ Tezan flashed towards his companion, covering his nose to ward off the stench.

_Probably. It seems to be over though. I think we should proceed and see whether there is something useful left for us._

Soon it became obvious though that this hope was fleeting. Most of the dead they encountered were burnt so badly it was hard to make out what race they belonged to, - except for the fact that it was obviously one of the sturdier ones- or not, in other words, anything resembling the slight, graceful built of an elf.

_How long do you think, since this happened?_

_A day or so I would say._ Dninin replied. _Not more. It's hard to be certain though with all the irritating water falling on them from above._ He shrugged, wiping damp white hair from his forehead in an annoyed gesture, before carefully moving forwards, in the direction of what appeared to be the center of a powerful blast that had obviously struck the attacking creatures and burned them beyond recognition, leaving all trees and underbrush untouched. An impressive piece of magic, even by the high standards these two were used to.

Even more impressive was the fact, that the cause of this destruction was lying in the midst of the carnage, apparently still alive, despite the crude tip of a broken spear protruding from his hip amidst a lot of blood and pus. The whole clearing stank of death and burned flesh, causing the Drow to grimace in disgust as they carefully picked their way through the corpses in order to get to the weakly twitching being in the center of this clearing. Their disgust only increased once they had reached him and spotted his heritage.

“Fairy”, Dinin said flatly as they stepped up to the softly moaning and only half conscious figure on the ground and drew a dagger, but he was stopped by Tezan's hasty gesture.

“No. Wait. I think I can heal him.”

“Heal...?” Dinin started to ask incredulously, but realized as he was speaking what his companion had in mind.

“Do you really think that wise?” He questioned. “Look what he is capable of doing”, the warrior added with a scowling glance towards the many dead.

“We still don't know were we are”, the priest replied simply and handed him some rope before he nimbly knelt down on the mossy ground and began his prayer for healing. Annoyed at being brushed off like that Dinin nonetheless hurried to bind hands and feet of their delirious prisoner. He hoped it would be worth all the energy to heal that one. At least it might prove amusing to torture him later on, he told himself while watching the steady flow of healing power descend into the body of the injured wood elf. Maybe it would even distract the priest from his endless taunting about his refusal to give in to his advances he mused, a thought which cheered him up considerably.

Dinin himself wouldn't touch the elf in a sexual fashion unless forced to do it at knife point. The thought of a fairy partner was even more disgusting to him than the idea of bedding a male. Judging though by what he had come to know about the priest's rather peculiar tastes until now, he assumed it was at least possible that the other might gain some perverted satisfaction from such an act.

On the other hand it was probably best to kill the elf fast, before he could recover enough to become a threat. He seemed to be getting better already, blue eyes clearing gradually until he could take in his surroundings and the current, undesirable company. When he appeared coherent enough to answer questions Tezan stopped his soft chanting and regarded their unfortunate prisoner for a moment. The bright, sky coloured eyes shone in the dirt streaked face and fully mirrored the old and deep seated hatred he could see in those of his dark cousins.

“I will tell you nothing!” The prisoner growled, obviously still in pain, even before they had had any chance to speak. His Drow was stilted but still understandable. Why he made the effort of using his enemy's language at all was beyond his captors, but they accepted it without further inquiries.

“Oh yes, I'm sure you would rather die, wouldn't you?” Tezan replied sweetly and drew nearer. “That can be arranged of course, or I could remove your vocal chords as well as most of your fingers and decide to drag you along so I can fuck you at my convenience. That would be most enjoyable don't you think?”

The revulsion on Dinin's face nearly matched that of the wood elf, but he kept quiet drawing a small amount of comfort from the obvious terror of their prisoner, who automatically tried to cringe away from them, succeeding only in causing himself pain as he upset the many incompletely healed wounds on his body. Despite his undeniable fear the bound elf managed to answer with an air of stubborn determination.

“Do to me what you may, but the fact remains that I will not tell you anything.”

“We merely want to know where we are. Any precious secrets you might have you can keep to yourself”, Dinin cut in coolly, less than thrilled by the idea of leaving an enemy alive for longer than strictly necessary. The added risk of actually travelling with a possibly dangerous prisoner was not something he felt very keen to include in his life and he hoped that this was nothing more than Tezan's attempt to get the elf to talk, which he did promptly, even though his tone was rather obstinate.

“You're in the High Forest.”

“Is that so”, the priest drawled, slowly dragging a finger over a shallow, half healed cut just beneath the other elf's collarbone, causing the tender skin to split open once again, the other's breath hitching slightly in pain.

“You might want to be a bit more specific my friend. If you tell us what we want to know without further delay we might even kill you fast afterwards. On the other hand”, the finger dug into the wound harshly, causing the prisoner to cry out softly, hands balling into fists to keep from getting louder, “if you don't I'll let Dinin play with you for a bit.”

“I won't... argh!”

The wood elf was breathing heavily, gritting his teeth as he tried to fight down the pain Dinin had just caused when he had abruptly dragged his head sideways, so that his neck was bent in a very uncomfortably angle.

“I don't think he will talk soon”, the fighter remarked matter of factly, trying hard to suppress his anger at the idea that he should need Tezan's approval before engaging in torture of any kind. “We should kill him and be done with it.”

Tezan sighed, but gave a nod.

“Sadly I think you're right”, he admitted. “We don't have the time to drag this out for much longer. Let's search him and end it.”

Nimble, black skinned fingers went to work swiftly, digging into pockets, or in Tezan's case crawling under the remains of the torn shirt and robe, while blue eyes glared back at them in silent, powerless hatred. The priest hissed shortly in irritation as he encountered the holy symbol of another elven deity, but pocketed the pendant anyway thinking it might prove useful, if only to improve a disguise. He looked up as Dinin suddenly let out a gasp. The fighter was holding a mask. A magical mask as the Sorcere trained wizard noticed immediately when he gave the intriguing object his full attention and quite powerful as well. So that was what he had felt before.

“Interesting.” He grinned. “Maybe this will still be worth our while.”

Even though their search didn't yield much else that could be useful, besides a few half spoiled spell components and the mostly torn and bloodied clothing of their captive, the two Drow were quite happy with their findings. Especially Dinin who now possessed a pair of boots that fit him much better than the previous one. He hated the slippery sensation that came with wearing shoes that didn't fit correctly as it made him feel awkward and unsure of his footing. If they had to fight now he felt that their chances had improved a bit. That fact and the satisfaction of slitting the throat of a fairy raised his spirits to a point where he thought he could even put up with Tezan's strange sense of humour for a while without wanting to scream.

It seemed that despite their failure to procure information of their whereabouts they had still managed to move in the general direction of their goal, because during the next day the sounds of flowing water indicated a river, large enough to be the one they were looking for. Moving along its banks they quickly neared the edge of the High Forest. As they stood looking out over the seemingly endless expanse of bared grassland they both felt a decided apprehension to leave the woods. As much as they were uncomfortable with the unceasing noise the forest produced, the feeling of complete exposure which awaited them would be worse by far.

The constant chirping of what had to be thousands of crickets living in the high grass, did nothing to ease their minds and the light of a full moon, a picture of beauty to most surface dwellers, appeared like a cruel spotlight to them.

“I hate this”, Dinin growled darkly at the sight. “It feels like sitting on matron Baenre's platter ready to be served for breakfast.”

Tezan laughed softly at that, despite his own reluctance to leave the scant protection of the trees.

“If I had been at Waterdeep before I could simply open a portal”, he said with regret, “but this time we'll have to do it the hard way.”

“Don't worry I'll protect you”, his companion quipped sweetly, more trying to cover his own fears than out of consideration, but still drawing a wry grin from the priest. Over the course of the last few days their relationship had become slightly more relaxed, as both of them realized that they needed to be able to rely on each other and could hardly afford to alienate the other to an extent that would jeopardize this alliance. The thought of being alone in these strange and unfamiliar lands was now more daunting than ever.

In the end they didn't actually leave the forest, but decided to keep going along its edge for a while, a path which would take them where they wanted to go for now and enable them to seek shelter during the hours of the harsh, blinding daylight with the added advantage of shielding their eyes and sensitive gear from the destructive force of sunlight, which was, despite all care, slowly corroding the strength and endurance of their weapons and partly also their garments.

That fact was something which would inadvertently lead to an argument a short while later, when they had settled down for the day in a small hollow surrounded by a few birch trees and bushes. In the course of the last night their journey had been disturbed by an attack of a group of orcs, which had left the two companions high on adrenaline and the exhilarating sense of slaughter, but also exhausted and in need of rest.

“We'll soon need to replace these”, remarked Tezan, pointing to the already threadbare cloak Dinin had placed beside himself while he tried to clean the last remnants of smelly orc blood off his dagger, a task that was made harder by the ridiculously elaborate decoration of the hilt, that seemed to attract grime and dirt like nothing else he had ever seen.

“If we weren't out in the light so much we wouldn't need to worry about things like that”, the warrior muttered more to himself than anybody else.

“I agree that the brightness is uncomfortable, but we will get used to it in time”, Tezan replied evenly. They had been through this discussion more than once already and usually Dinin kept still from this point on, but now his frustration had reached a level which made him respond quite sharply.

“What if I don't want to get used to it? What if I hate it?” He asked with narrow eyes, dangerously short of exploding right there, especially when he noticed how childish and petulant his complaints sounded when spoken out loud. “Why do you choose to live up here anyway when we could simply go to another city in the Underdark without having to go through all this trouble of trying to live in a world of which we know absolutely nothing?”

Angrily he thrust the dagger into the soft leaf littered ground beside him. The first blossoms of spring were spread around him, dotting the ground white and purple, but at this moment he had no eye for their delicate beauty focusing instead on the other dark elf in front of him.

“I follow my faith”, Tezan said now, simply and with the complete calm of someone who is very sure of what he is saying, obviously not in the least disturbed by the sudden outburst. “This was not quite what I expected to do yet and it may take some effort to adjust to the new circumstances due to the lack of time I had to prepare myself, but in the end I will be doing what my Lord commands and contribute to the aim of re-establishing our people in our rightful place here in the Night Above.”

Dinin stared back in helpless anger, realizing suddenly that he didn't know very much about said faith at all, except for vague rumours picked up in shady taverns and the facts that it was highly dangerous to flaunt or even speak of it under the noses of Menzoberranzan's lolthian clergy and that apparently most of Vhaeraun's clerics were male, which was no big surprise, since they had the most reason to rebel against the continued oppression by Lolth's priestesses. Not that he wanted anything to do with religion anymore after spending so many years as a drider, with his mind in constant, painful disarray.

Maybe he would find a way back into the Underdark once they had reached Waterdeep. Ideally something that was safer than travelling all the way on foot and alone. Until then he was sorely aware that there wasn't much he could do except following the road they had taken and hope they even got there alive.

“How many others are there?” Dinin asked tentatively, slightly uncomfortable with the thought of meeting another Vhaeraun worshipper, which would in fact quite possibly put him at a disadvantage.

“In this forest?” Tezan asked back amusedly, easily able to discern the feelings behind that question, “probably quite a lot compared to other parts of these lands, as far as I know.”

Dinin immediately looked up in plain surprise.

“Then why don't you consider staying here?” He wanted to know more curious now than angry.

Tezan shrugged, still smiling serenely.

“I did say that I wanted to enjoy myself didn't I? That includes having no wish to let myself be tied down by responsibilities and allegiances just yet. There are things I want to see first, like the sea for example. As I told you before,” he said plucking out a small, white flower, inhaling the scent with a show of theatrical relish. “you're welcome to leave if you feel the need to, but I daresay it will become quite boring without someone of like mind to talk to.”

 

 


	5. Next step

“We will have to go through there to find a suitable crossing”, Tezan said, while they squinted at the map, trying to plan their next steps after days of braving the blinding rays of light on an open plane. “Before we do that though, I think it would be advisable to contemplate a disguise. River crossings, in my experience, generally mean a lot of beings of all sorts confined to a limited amount of space. Conditions which would be less than favourable, should we be discovered for what we are.”

“You're the mage. Tell me what we'll do”, answered Dinin, deciding to humour him this time. He was fully aware that the other would not have brought this up unless he had already thought about it beforehand, so he figured he might as well save himself the tedium of arguing and just accept what his ally had planned, since he didn't have any ideas on the matter anyway. His unusual compliance was noted with a brilliant smile.

“Do you speak common?”

“A little. Enough to understand the general gist of everything.”

Tezan looked dissatisfied with this confession of limited ability, but shrugged and said: “Well we'll have to cover that somehow and make you look outlandish enough to explain any trace of accent.”

“I understand,” Dinin replied impatiently, “but how exactly do you suggest we do that without even having any spare clothes?”

“Ah, I thought you might ask that.” The priest appeared entirely too condescending for his liking. Dinin knew though, that if he showed his annoyance at Tezan's obvious prejudices about his intelligence the other would do his best to draw out this stupid game as long as possible before coming to the point. He nodded and waited, hoping it wouldn't take all that long in the end.

“I've been thinking about the matter for some time now and decided how to best choose our roles. We have to fit in, but still leave ourselves some leeway for the lack of knowledge about local customs. I have heard for example that in these parts of the land... ”

Dinin tried to keep himself from inspecting his nails in an effort to feign some interest, but apparently he wasn't succeeding very well, because Tezan suddenly cut himself short with a resigned grimace.

“The mask we found earlier. It will help us.”

“You mean the mask I found.”

Tezan gave him a long suffering look.

“Try it”, he said having obviously decided to be practical for once and skip a verbal battle. They were both becoming better at these little moments of compromise which were so untypical for dark elves. The only reason they even managed something remotely resembling polite conversation at times, despite their obvious differences in preference and character.

“What do I do exactly?”

The warrior seemed a bit lost, holding the mask carefully in one hand, as if it had suddenly turned into something dangerous.

“Try visualizing what you want to look like while putting it on,” Tezan suggested blandly and added: “A human would probably be the best option. There are so many of them in these lands that it would be the least suspicious guise.”

That advice earned him a blank look though.

“I've never really seen a human up close.”

While not so unusual for someone who had never gotten past Menzoberranzan's borders for any substantial periods of time, this reply caused a frustrated growl from Tezan.

“Fine,” he snapped. “Adjust your general colouring then to match a grey fairy elf.”

With an expression of pure disgust on his face Dinin did as he was told, put the mask on, closed his eyes and strained his imagination to produce an image of his usually bone white hair as black, contrasted by milky pale skin, with eyes blue instead of the deep red the normally had. The tingling on his face, which soon spread over his whole body was slightly worrying, but since Tezan stayed silent he suppressed the urge to rip the device off and throw it away. The feeling of having his identity stripped from him only a short time after regaining it was so uncomfortable, that he had to consciously control his features to avoid betraying his unease.

As he opened his eyes Dinin was suddenly met with the sight of an equally pale skinned and dark haired Tezan, who regarded him calmly out of moss green eyes. His first and nearly instinctual response was to hiss and go for his dagger, a move the priest prevented by grabbing his wrist in a quick, snake like movement.

“Oh no you won't!”

A slender wand suddenly rested at the hollow of his throat and forced Dinin into confused, instant stillness. For a fleeting moment he almost suspected, in a bout of paranoia, that Tezan might really be what he appeared right then, a surface elf who had somehow managed to fool him, but the predatory smile which spread on the other's face as he watched the helpless fighter made it hard to believe that he was anything other than a Drow.

“You should work on your self control dear”, the priest whispered, showing no intention of removing his wand anytime soon. Instead he took a small step closer, his grip on Dinin's wrist tightening as he tugged the arm outwards. “You make such a delicious little fairy though. One could almost think you innocent.”

“I doubt that image would hold for long with your blood dripping from my hands”, Dinin gritted out icily, while inwardly he cursed himself for having been careless enough to let the other surprise him in such a way. Tezan's grin didn't waver one bit at such a glaring threat. Drow humour could be a spiky and dangerous affair at times and right now he just couldn't be bothered to refrain from playing a bit. Only a little, he promised himself and then he would stop. He knew full well that Dinin's emotional threshold wasn't high enough for him to go much further anyway.

“You had better get used to us looking like this”, Tezan murmured, slowly dragging the wand upwards until the tip touched lips that were tightly compressed in one sharp line of rage. To his amazement blue eyes could convey the heated emotion just as well as red ones. But the sight of barely controlled anger was also a sign for him to stop now or face an unpleasant aftermath later. With a last shiver of enjoyment he finally removed the wand from its position, took a quick step backwards and added with a slight smirk: “It would look a bit strange after all if you were to attack me, your trusted friend and ally, in the middle of our long and hazardous journey, when we have already been through so much together.”

After the long moment he needed to take a deep breath and compose himself far enough so he wouldn't scream with rage and try to tear the infuriating cleric apart, regardless of the consequences, Dinin redirected his attention towards his hand. Anything to distract himself from the red hot anger which threatened to shatter his normally good self control. The sight of the white skin on his own hand, as revolting as it was, gave him something other to contemplate than the last minute and provided a much needed anchor for his churning emotions. He stared at it for some time, painfully aware of Tezan's gaze flickering over him in unabated amusement. When he finally felt that he could speak again with at least a semblance of control he said coldly: “Do that again and I will gut you slowly no matter where we are.”

Wisely the priest didn't do more than emit a soft sigh at this announcement and kept any further commentary to himself. He took care not to present his back to the angry warrior though while they continued their tedious march towards the river crossing, wondering if he had gone to far after all. Certainly the continuous sight of a fair skinned Dinin was a tad unnerving even to him, despite his earlier taunting about the looks of innocence. At least they were slowly becoming used to the brightness of daytime, a development very much necessary if they meant to wear this disguise for longer and be convincing in their roles. The fact that most of their underdark clothing had begun to reach worrying stages of disintegration prompted further urgency, for they would have to do something about it soon or have it falling to threads around them.

The night was coming to an end when they finally reached the road which would take them to the crossing that bore the simple and rather telling name Stone Bridge. The two Drow had opted to take the most permanent way of crossing the river, since Tezan had no way to be sure just how old his map was and didn't want to risk going anywhere else.

The sun hadn't even begun to appear at the horizon, which meant that they were currently the only people up and moving, a circumstance comforting to both of them. Soon their disguise would have to pass the first real test and neither could be sure of the outcome of such an encounter. The uncertainty of the situation was quietly gnawing at their nerves, but now there was nothing to be done about it. This would either work or they would soon be running for their lives. About four hours walk ahead of them lay the town of Beliard, which was to be the testing ground for the whole ruse, as it was situated directly at the way to the ancient Stone Bridge.

“Let me do the talking”, Tezan said for the fourth time in nearly as many hours as the first houses appeared in sight, which was a clear indicator of how nervous he really was, despite his outwardly calm and relaxed demeanour.

“Will you stop telling me that!” Dinin erupted, less than thrilled by the constant reminders of their precarious situation. “I know full well how to behave. If you think you won't manage to fool a few stupid humans we'll just skip this town and try somewhere else.”

The priest merely glared at him, biting back a sharp response and returned to the task of making himself appear friendly enough to be mistaken for the surface elf he was impersonating, something at which Dinin was currently failing rather spectacularly. The fighter looked very much restless and full of pent up aggression, ready to slit the throat of anybody daring enough to get in his way. While this was perfectly normal for his usual background it could prove to be a problem in these lands. Oh well, Tezan told himself with an inward shrug, if it came to a discovery he could still try to claim ignorance of his companions true origins. Sure Dinin was useful when it came to fighting, but with the knowledge and magic he had, he could get by without him if necessary. Thus consoled he even managed a grin.

Since it was still quite early in the day there weren't as many people up and about as there would normally be. There seemed to be quite a variety of races mingling though, something which was comforting and disquieting at the same time. For if the locals were used to others behaving strange on occasion it would be less likely that someone bothered them about any lapse in appropriate behaviour, but it also heightened the possibility of an encounter with real elves, which could prove disastrous.

Let the show begin! Tezan thought to himself as they finally stepped through the door of an Inn that would hopefully be cheap enough to accommodate his slender purse. He had to admit though, that he was quite grateful not to find anybody present besides the grizzly old human behind the bar.

“You wish?”

That didn't sound very enthusiastic, but they did admittedly look a bit too ragged to inspire much confidence in their financial abilities.

“A room and a bath”, The priest replied equally short in common, forcing the rough, unfamiliar sounds over his lips. Accompanied with a few coins this request set the man into motion.

“Well, well,” he rasped, pocketing the money with quick, efficient moves. “I have only one room left. You'll have to share a bed. Bath's no problem though.”

“Fine with me”, Tezan replied, hiding his delighted grin at the thought of having an excuse to spend the whole night being able to harass the warrior. Dinin who, even with his limited knowledge of common, had been able to follow most of the short conversation took the opportunity to heavily step on his foot as they followed the human's shuffling steps through a back door, which led to the few rooms this building had to offer.

The whole procedure actually turned out to be rather anti climatic, since the barkeep didn't really seem interested in more than their money and soon left them alone with a key, directions to their room and a small but invitingly steaming bath tub.

“Since you saw it fit to put us into a single bed, I think I get to bathe first”, Dinin remarked and was surprised when his companion merely nodded, put a quick locking spell on the door and pulled out a book to settle himself on a dangerously wobbly looking chair. He would have his chance tonight and maybe if he didn't bother Dinin now he would be a bit more amenable later on... or maybe not, but there was still the possibility of other sources of entertainment now that they were in a city. It would be nice to try out some of the foreign drinks later he thought. Maybe he would even manage to pick a few purses to alleviate their dangerously low financial status a bit. It had always been no more than an odd hobby for him back in Menzoberranzan, when he didn't have to worry about things like lodging and general supplies yet, but the skill would probably come in quite handy now.

 


	6. First contact

After they had bathed and rested for a few hours on the uncomfortably narrow, lumpy bed, the inn slowly started to fill with travellers wishing to spend the night here before going on their way across the Stone bridge or elsewhere. These were mostly humans, but Tezan had already spotted the occasional dwarf or gnome and was wary of a lone, ragged looking half elf sitting at a small table in a quiet corner. Dinin had opted to stay in the small and slightly damp smelling room, claiming he needed more rest, which was probably due to the fact that he had barely been able to close an eye while Tezan was in touching distance, but the priest felt the need for some company besides that of the prickly warrior anyway. He had been cautious enough to keep up the hood of his increasingly tattered cloak though. No need to shout out his racial heritage to the world, whether it be real or not.

Hesitant at first he decided to keep watching the crowd before making any other moves, even though the game, which a noisy group of three humans had started two tables to his left, did look quite interesting. It involved dice, money and apparently also a lot of swearing, two of those were things which he could possibly bend to his will without them noticing. After he had watched silently and carefully for an hour Tezan knew the simple rules by heart and was quickly becoming bored enough to test his luck by trying to join them.

In this case, he surmised, a slightly helpless attitude would even be beneficial, which was good, because it was probably the only thing he could currently pull off with any amount of conviction. The opportunity came when one of the men stood up to get more of the same foamy, yellowish and obviously alcoholic beverage he and his friends had already been consuming steadily all evening. From there it was just a simple matter of joining him at the bar, professing a casual amount of interest in this very new and unknown game and flash a bit of his money to awaken enough greed to be invited for a “beginners round”.

Really, thought Tezan, his wide grin hidden behind an artfully crafted mask of innocent concentration as he listened to the rules he had already figured out, greedy idiots are just the same everywhere you go, whether they have black skin or this awful shade of dirty pink.

It was of course quite a bit riskier to cheat a habitually paranoid dark elf than a half drunk human, as he discovered during the next hour. The hardest thing for him was probably the conversation, which was so shallow that he, more used to the subtle double meanings and word play the Drow liked to indulge in, suspected to have missed something crucial more than once, only to discover shortly afterwards that indeed there was nothing more behind the words than the initial, very straightforward meaning. Normally Tezan would rapidly have grown even more bored in such undemanding company, but the remaining danger of discovery added a fine edge of excitement to his little venture into the simple world of human dice games.

He took care not to win too often and it all went so well until there sounded an accusing voice from the next table.

“You stupid morons can't you see that the bleeding elf is fucking cheating!?”

Maybe he had grown a bit too complacent during the last hour. With this rather open accusation Tezan found himself facing three suddenly very much distrustful faces. The stocky, bearded human from the other table, who had spoken the damning words also glared at him drunkenly. He was wearing a stained robe, which indicated that he was some kind of spell caster. A good clue as to why he had been able to detect Tezan's little piece of trickery.

“I don't know what he means”, the Drow claimed with wide green eyes, faking complete surprise. “Honestly, as if I would ever engage in such loathsome deceit! The mere idea!” He continued, working himself into a show of rightful anger, while looking for the best escape route to take in case things became ugly.

“You are questioning my honour!”

He glared aggressively at the robed man, hoping to scare him off, but the other merely glared back in drunken stubbornness.

“You are questo... questioning my ability!”

“You are under the influence of far too much alcohol. Of course I question your ability.”

The priest tried to put as much unconcerned arrogance in his words as possible to make the accusations sound as ridiculous as possible. His three victims were still looking a bit undecided about whom to believe, but during the night he had found out about a sure way to placate them.

“You seem unsettled,” the Drow addressed them cheerily “How about I get you another round?”

The promise of more drinks seemed to settle most of their concerns and before anybody could raise a protest Tezan had gone, sweeping his winnings into a wide sleeve as he stood, while casting a quick illusion to make it seem as if he had left all coin on the table, ready to be won back in the next game. He did in fact order an harassed looking maid to bring some more of this terrible drink called beer to their table, but had no intention of going back. Instead he moved on and had just spotted a nice dark corner when a soft musical voice, filled with quiet amusement, reached his ears from behind.

“You did cheat. And Erevan knows, you became terribly sloppy near the end.”

The first thing he saw upon turning was the cowl of a deep green cloak. But it was immediately drawn back to reveal something even more horrible. A curly mass of hazel hair framing a delicate face with bronzed skin of a slightly reddish hue. Out of this face to very sharp and slanted grey eyes looked at him. A wood elf.

For a second Tezan had to fight hard against a sudden urge to run very fast. His next instinct was to attack, but that was repressed just as quickly. Trying to contain the bubble of hysteria welling up in his stomach he grinned with all audacity he could muster on such short notice and said: “Well they were boring and boring company tends to dull the mind, don't you think?”

The pearly laughter which followed his statement did much to alleviate his initial concerns. He was worried though by the name she had tossed out so casually. Erevan Ilesere, the unseen trickster, an elven deity that despised Vhaeraun with passion. He'd have to tread carefully here. Very carefully. Was she alone or with others? He was unsure if he could get away with killing her in this rather public place, so it was probably his best bet to try and play along as well as he could manage under the circumstances and seize the first chance to disappear quietly.

“I'm Daleenis,” she introduced herself. “How about you get us some drinks then and in turn I'll show you a better technique?”

She was smiling and obviously flirting with him! The distinct beginnings of pure, icy horror crept down Tezan's back. Having grown up in Menzoberranzan, where women reigned supreme, the cleric was not accustomed to outright deny any female in such a situation, no matter how much he might despise them. Only someone with a serious deathwish would have dared to do that and even though this was no priestess, the conditioning of long years in his hometown still held true. He was aware that he was walking headlong into danger, but at the same time the almost instinctual superficial obedience towards women took over and he found himself nodding before he could think better of it, wishing in the same moment that he could just run away or throw some kind of bloody curse at her.

That kind of behaviour is what I am supposed to have left behind now, the Drow chided himself as he made his way towards the bar, finally pulling himself together. Although angry at having been drawn into this so easily he resolved to make the best of it and simply turn the other Elf into a tool of practise. One day he'd have to be able to play his current role to perfection and now there was a chance to try things without too much danger and learn from her responses. If she found out about his heritage, he could always try to kill her discreetly afterwards. With two glasses of dark red wine he returned to the table where she had settled herself and forced out a charming smile. This would be so exhausting!

To his amazement she didn't even wait until he had drunk himself before briefly raising and then taking a first tentative sip from one of the two glasses he had placed in the middle of their little table, indicating free pick for either of them, as was customary in his hometown to show that no poisoning was intended.

To Tezan her initiative was an unexpected show of trust. Maybe this would not be so bad after all, he mused. With such an unconcerned attitude in his new acquaintance he felt a bit more positive that he would be able to slip around or talk his way out of any difficulties that might arise. At least until he perceived the other young elf coming towards them with a stance clearly indicating that he knew the woman on the other side of the table.

The boys hair was a bit lighter in colour, but when he drew nearer Tezan could see that his eyes were of the same bright grey as Daleenis'. His happy grin filled them with a compelling sparkle that was totally alien to anything the priest had ever seen in a Drow that age. He had to work very hard to avoid licking his lips at the sight, but couldn't totally suppress a slight twitch of his fingers, which he fervently hoped went unnoticed by his current company.

“Ah my brother”, Daleenis announced helpfully just as Tezan wrested his gaze back to her. So that boy was obviously going to come over and try his patience it seemed. If he had to put up with that walking temptation he had better start working on his self control right now. He could imagine far too well how those captivating eyes might look when glazed with need or pain. Not a picture which was inclined to improve his concentration in any way.

“I see”, he said carefully, trying to put all distracting thoughts aside for the moment and drown his sudden urges in a show of politeness. “The resemblance is quite stunning.”

She smiled, obviously deciding to take that as a compliment of sorts.

“It is his first trip to a big city, so everything still has the air of adventure and excitement for him.”

“A big city?” Tezan inquired innocently.

“Waterdeep. We've got relatives there.”

That news had the Drow cursing internally even while he nodded with feigned interest. Of course they just had to be travelling in the same direction. Well that made matters a bit more delicate. It also meant that he'd have to get away from them as fast as it was possible without arousing suspicion. There was no margin for stupid mistakes any longer.

“I've heard it said that the city is quite impressive”, he said, hoping to extract a bit of general information that could later be of use to them, so that this evening would not turn out to be totally wasted. Daleenis looked surprised though.

“You haven't been there?”

“Not yet”, he smiled brightly, wondering why that would seem so unusual, “but with you two there to show me around I might consider a quick visit sometime soon. Will you be staying for long?”

She shook her head with a sigh of slight regret.

“No not me, but Jiqael, my brother, will. He is to be trained in the art of healing for a few years. Our relatives are working at a hospital in Waterdeep and agreed to help tutor him.”

While she was speaking said brother had finally managed to push his way though the crowd and arrive at their table.

“Are you picking up mysterious strangers again Dal?” He asked grinning mischievously, which evoked some tempting thoughts in Tezan and caused a small surge of arousal that was rather inconvenient at the moment. That boy way just too fascinating for his own good. He tried thinking hard about Dinin and his sour faced revulsion at the mere idea of bedding a male, but it wasn't much help. At least he wasn't the only one with issues here, because Daleenis blushed at her brother's statement and mumbled something which sounded suspiciously like “cheeky little pest”, before trying to cover up her embarrassment by saying sternly: “Sit down Jiqael and be nice to...”

Here she gave the priest a helpless look realizing only now that she had never gotten his name.

“Nalen”, he threw in quickly, picking the name of some elven slave he remembered from the baths back at the academy, mainly because that particular individual had had it screamed at himself by the overseer, frequently enough that Tezan could actually remember it without much effort.

“Hello Nalen. How nice to meet you”, Jiqael said with a quick look to his sister, which clearly indicated amusement, but also some doubt about his word being actually true.

“Oh the pleasure's all mine”, Tezan replied, unable to fully keep a purr out of his voice as he gifted Jiqael with a smile that verged on predatory, startling the boy into a nervous, slightly wide eyed grin. A reaction which made the Drow simultaneously want to slap and congratulate himself. He abruptly turned his attention back to Daleenis. Much safer for everybody involved, he decided. Not trusting himself enough to stay much longer he gave a quick excuse, about having arranged to meet with someone, after some light small talk about Waterdeep's more outstanding features and departed through the front door, relieved to leave the strange situation behind, but also elated at the quality of his acting skills.

Dinin wasn't very happy to find the priest climbing into their room through a small window later on. In fact, being startled from his rest in such a suspicious fashion, he came very near to slitting his companion's throat.

“The next time you creep up on me when I'm resting I'll really kill you!” The warrior growled, pushing his dagger back into the sheath under the pillow with hard, angry motions. “What have you done anyway that prevented you from using the door like everybody else?” he wanted to know irritably, but Tezan merely shrugged, grinning perfectly unconcerned.

“What?!” Dinin pressed, not at all convinced by this show of happy indifference.

“Don't worry. We're not in any trouble. I just played cards with a few humans and got drawn into a conversation about Waterdeep, which I had to end by leaving, after that I naturally couldn't walk back in without looking a bit strange. You see, there's nothing to worry about so stop fretting.”

With an indignant look at being accused of fretting Dinin decided to let it go. As long as they were not in any immediate danger he was more or less content to leave the other to his exploration of human behaviour, though how the priest bore it he couldn't really comprehend. Humans were supposed to be such filthy, brutish creatures after all that any more contact with them than was strictly necessary seemed hardly a desirable option.

He tensed up briefly as he felt Tezan slide under the covers next to him, but relaxed a little as the priest did nothing more than curl up to rest and kept his hands to himself.

 

 


	7. Pleasant travel

 

The next day found them sharing the street with a more or less consistent stream of travellers who obviously intended to cross the river as well. The sudden increase of company led to quite some half suppressed twitching on Dinin's part, because he kept being startled by the uninhibited loudness and rash movements which most of the humans frequently displayed. Tezan didn't feel too comfortable either, being faced with behaviour so different from the quiet grace and habitual stealth they were used to from other Drow. To his great relief they didn't catch a single glimpse of Daleenis and her brother though. He didn't very much relish the thought of telling his companion any details about that part of his evening, because he suspected the other would accuse him of sympathizing with the wood elves straight away. Stupid lolthian dogma, he decided irritably, as if killing them on the spot would have been more useful than gaining information like he had done. But if the great Lady Lolth willed it, her servants would do virtually anything however stupid or insane it might be, he thought caustically, emotions fed by long years of bitter experience.

“What?” Dinin suddenly wanted to know, looking aggravated, maybe because he unexpectedly felt to be the source of Tezan's angry grimace. Perhaps his face had betrayed a bit too much of his last musings. An uncomfortable possibility to consider, since the cleric felt he needed perfect control of himself in a situation as potentially dangerous as this one.

“I was thinking about you naked”, Tezan replied flatly, hoping this would put the other off so he would leave him alone. When Dinin's looks merely turned doubtful and curious though, he felt the urge to poke a bit, just for the sake of seeing some annoyance flit over the handsome face.

“Well with a mother like yours I certainly would have expected you to be more of a slut”, Tezan sneered. “You have no entertainment value at all you know.”

The feigned disappointment in his voice was so exaggerated it was hardly convincing, but the result it got him was satisfying nonetheless, because the warrior's predictably narrowed eyes showed an interesting mixture of disgust and weary annoyance.

“Do you ever think about something else or is sex really your whole purpose in life?” Dinin asked waspishly and accelerated his steps so he was slightly ahead of the irritating cleric, indicating clearly that all conversation was cancelled for at least a few hours. Oh but this was just too good to pass up! Quickly forgetting all his earlier misgivings Tezan laughed softly and hurried to close the short distance between them.

“What else is there that's worth thinking about?” He wanted to know innocently and simply ignored it when Dinin just stared straight ahead, saying nothing in reply. “Power?”, he asked as if the fighter had actually answered something. “They both amount to the same thing eventually you know. The one complements the other until they become intertwined and nearly indiscernible. I don't think you would resist so much if I was thrown before you bound, defenceless and crying for mercy. Imagine me, helpless and frightened enough to do anything you order...”

But you wouldn't allow that anyway! Dinin had it on the tip of his tongue, managing only barely to keep the sharp words from bursting out, because he absolutely wanted to avoid being drawn into such a stupid conversation. That would only amount to more aggravation for him.

“You're wasting your breath Tezan”, he said coldly. “If you need it that badly go and fuck some ugly human, but stop boring me with your whining.”

“Fine.”

He sounded as if he was sulking now, but Dinin noted the short, oddly satisfied glint in the other's eyes with deep suspicion and wondered fruitlessly what it was that had caused this kind of reaction. He was soon distracted though, when they started a more serious discussion of their plans concerning a future life in Waterdeep. Something that was more interesting by far than listening to that annoying priest trying to taunt him into his bed.

They had already agreed on keeping a low profile for the time being, until they would know better about the scope of their available options, but while Dinin insisted on actual hiding, Tezan seemed convinced that it would be better to keep up the pretence of being surface elves, including the attempt to find work and all the other small, tedious details of an ordinary life.

“How are you going to learn anything if you keep hidden in some dark hole all day?” the priest argued. “To understand their way of thinking you have to share their way of life and you can't do that if you keep strictly away from all company. Besides, if they discover our true identity we'll still have plenty of opportunity to run away and hide. We should use the chance to learn and acquire as much knowledge as we can before that happens.”

“Yes, and when they do find out about us, they'll also know where we live, because it would be suspicious if we kept that secret. I don't want to have a bloody raging mob in front of my door.”

“We can still prepare some kind of hideout. I never said we shouldn't, it's just that we won't live there. Hiding in plain sight is a very effective strategy after all.”

“Of course! And it did work so amazingly well for you back in Menzoberranzan, didn't it”, Dinin sneered and got a very dark look from the cleric.

“This is different”, he snapped.

“Oh, is it now?”

“Entirely different”, Tezan replied, suddenly very serious. “A mob will stop hunting you at some point when the first exhaustion and boredom sets in, but having a bunch half crazed fanatics on your heels with no hope for escape unless you kill every single one of them is a bit more... problematic.”

The half suppressed shiver, which went through the priest's body at these words, showed clearly just how much he was still haunted by those straining weeks of constant flight.

“So I'm telling you: As long as we are careful and don't actively go looking for trouble we will be fine wherever we stay.”

“I still think it is too great a risk”, Dinin insisted stubbornly. “If something goes wrong there is nobody but ourselves to turn to. What kind of occupation would you take up anyway? I really don't think you could act the law abiding elven mage in a fashion that would convince anybody for long.”

“I'll be a thief”, came the frustratingly serene answer. “Come now, don't look so disapproving. I'm not so bad really.”

“And in your opinion that wouldn't be looking for trouble?!” Dinin wanted to know sharply.

“Not if I don't get caught.”

At this the warrior only snorted in contempt.

They still hadn't reached an agreement when the first farms in the wide perimeter around Waterdeep came into sight, but, as Dinin thought bitterly, this one promised to go the same way that most arguments between the two did. Meaning that Tezan went ahead, did whatever he wanted to and a dissatisfied Dinin went along with it, because he couldn't do much else if he didn't want to be left stranded in this hostile world, which was so unlike anything he knew. This dependence on the priest bothered him greatly since there wasn't going to be a feasible way to change things in the near future. Nothing he could do besides acquiring what knowledge he needed to survive alone as fast as possible. And that included learning and improving his common, even though he heartily disliked the rough and hard way it sounded when he forced it past his lips.

The irrational, nagging fear that his dangerous brother would somehow appear out of thin air still plagued him sometimes, even though he realized that a chance meeting was hardly probable as he had come to appreciate during the last few days, how vast and nearly endless this light filled space above the caves of his homeland actually was. Even though he was slowly getting used to the strange sensation of having nothing but empty air above his head he couldn't quite shake off the disconcerting feeling that he was out of his element. Given a chance he would have gone back underground immediately.

The fact that Tezan seemed to adjust to these lands and customs far better and faster than he did only fed his growing frustration. What did the priest have that he lacked? Was it a question of willingness, of faith? Dinin suspected strongly that it might be just that, but he couldn't bring himself to contemplate the worship of another deity, after suffering for so long in Lady Lolth's cruel grasp. He had had more than enough of Gods for the time being.

His next hours were spent trudging sullenly after Tezan, who was positively bursting with excitement as they approached the city gates and passed through along with a noisy caravan, after nothing more than a brief and rather superficial questioning about their intentions. The trudging became more and more difficult though the deeper they got into the city, because the sheer mass of beings milling about trying to conduct their business, was soon constantly forcing them to sidestep highly loaded wagons, irritable riders and some people who appeared to be in such a hurry that they absolutely had to barge through the crowd with no consideration at all.

“Isn't it great?”

Tezan nearly had to shout to make himself understood against the constant noise of the market they were currently walking through, but that didn't diminish his interest or his happy grin in any way. Dinin, who absolutely hated to be stuck in such an uncoordinated and ever shifting press of bodies, merely grimaced and demanded in his best common that they go somewhere quieter right now.

“I don't see anything great in being stuck between shouting, sweating humans”, he said in exasperation once he had managed to drag the reluctant priest a good way away from the market and down a less populated alley, where the constant roar of bartering traders and shoppers was dimmed to a more bearable background noise. Actually it wasn't populated at all, which was most certainly caused by the terrible smell that originated from the gutter, where a sluggish, brown-green mass was slowly floating along to an unknown destination.

“The crowd has its advantages”, Tezan claimed with a sneaky grin, waving a purse that was most certainly not his own, because it was garishly and tastelessly decorated, but nicely filled with a big amount of coins by the look of it. “This will buy us at least a few nights lodging I think.”

Slightly reassured, but unwilling to admit that he was actually feeling thankful for the pleasant prospect of sleeping in a bed again, Dinin only made some undefined noise which could be generously interpreted as satisfaction.

“Maybe it'll buy you a whore too, so your company might become bearable for once”, the warrior couldn't resist making a snide remark, but Tezan was obviously too elated for a fight, because all he did was nod happily, before he turned and purposefully strode down the alley as if oblivious to the stench.

“Come on I want to see the sea!”

And being interested despite himself Dinin followed. Only to find their way barred by a group of ragged humans after but a few steps. Without the distracting stink of this place he would probably have smelled them at a distance of twenty feet and it surprised him that he had been distracted enough to only notice the danger now. Inwardly cursing his carelessness Dinin quickly took stock of the situation. Now that his fine senses were alerted he could also make out some noises that indicated more of the filthy creatures hidden around them. The still comparatively loud sounds of the market prevented him from telling exactly just how many and where they were though, but that didn't diminish his confidence. These were mere humans after all. No match for a Drow warrior. With a slight inconspicuous motion he let his dagger slide out of his sleeve into his hand and shifted his feet to a position which would allow him to whirl around in the fragment of a second.

“Get out of my way or I'll kill you”, Tezan snapped, irritated at what he perceived as a very bad attempt at mugging, which was keeping him from things much more interesting. In his own mind this curt warning an was uncommon fairness. A concession due only to the fact that he wasn't quite sure whether he would get away with slaughtering these sorry figures on the spot. If they had some sort of deal with the local authorities, he assumed he could get into trouble for attacking them. The human of course saw things a bit differently. He scowled and bared a set of broken, yellowed teeth in a grimace half anger half petulance.

“No no, elvy”, he rasped “you give me that purse or we will kill _you_. Understood?”

“You would try to kill me? Really?” Tezan asked, suddenly switching from a hostile scowl to polite interest, thereby hopelessly confusing the leader of that doomed band.

“What of the uh... city watch?” the priest wanted to know, trying to find out what his limitations were in such a situation, while he carefully shifted his hip a little to position his favourite wand so that the first blast of energy would take down at least half the humans in front of him and give him room to move. If they were openly threatening to kill him, he surely had the right to defend himself, he reasoned and waited patiently for a reply.

“City watch don't come here”, informed him the robber smugly and waved his cheap sword in a way that was intended to be threatening, but very nearly made the Drow laugh.

“Yea. Stinks too much”, added one of his companions helpfully and advanced a step, which should be the last one he ever made in his life, because Tezan correctly took this to mean that the time for talking was over and released his first blast, while both Drow simultaneously dropped a sphere of darkness over the already dim light in the stinking alley.

With speed and cold efficiency that spoke of long and vigorous training the two dark elves dispatched nearly two thirds of the band before the rest simply gave in to terror and fled, blindly running in any direction that led away from the bloodthirsty demons who hid behind that deceptively frail elven guise. When Tezan finally dispelled the darkness after no more than a few minutes, they were standing in the midst of roughly half a dozen dead or dying humans. He critically eyed his companion whose face reflected a certain amount of disappointment at the early end of this unequal fight.

“You got blood on your shirt.”

Dinin scowled in response and kicked the nearest body on the muddy ground in retaliation, receiving a satisfyingly anguished groan for his efforts. Since they had only managed to acquire one other coat during their journey a lot of his clothing was by now reaching a worrying state of disrepair, meaning that this was very inconvenient. They were still able to hide most of the fraying seams and holes, but sooner rather than later he'd have to get at least a new shirt, because this one was all but falling apart on him and wouldn't withstand another attempt at washing.

“I'll certainly not take anything from those animals! They smell worse than that sickening sludge”, he said disgustedly, crouching instead to wipe his dagger and short sword on the short tunic of a corpse. “The cloak should cover it well enough that no one will see.”

“What about the smell?” Tezan wanted to know doubtfully, but the fighter merely raised a thin white brow.

“You really think they have senses sharp enough to notice?”

That made the cleric sigh softly.

“You're probably right”, he admitted. “I guess we'll be buying clothes and leave the harbour for later then.”

 


	8. Good work is hard to find

“No bed!”

The words were said with such bitter, forceful displeasure, that Tezan looked a bit surprised.

“You wanted those swords. Without them we could easily have afforded five beds.”

He waved his hand in an all encompassing gesture indicating the bleak sight of the empty and dirty room they were currently standing in and admitted wryly: “Well yes, no bed, no table, no nothing. You are quite right, but this is our home now and in time we'll get everything we need.” After these sober words he suddenly broke into a teasing grin.

“I didn't think you would be so eager to share a bed again anyway.”

Dinin answered with a well practised glare, but as usual Tezan's grin only widened. He shrugged and turned to take a look out of the grimy little window which graced their newly acquired quarters with just enough dim light so that their sensitive eyes could easily tolerate it.

“The view certainly leaves something to be desired”, he remarked lightly, watching the rubbish strewn backyard, which was inhabited mostly by rats and presumably many other kinds of vermin. At least they had a place to stay, a feat which had been harder to accomplish than even the pessimistic Dinin had expected. Their landlord, a half deaf, old human woman with very few teeth left in her mouth, seemed completely unconcerned though as to what two elves with little money could want with the dingy room situated above her own living quarters.

After receiving enough money to cover the first three rents she had simply shoved a rusty key at Tezan and left them to it. A refreshingly ignorant attitude in Dinin's opinion.

The frequent questioning of their histories and intentions, that had been a feature of almost every other interview with a possible landlord, had grated on his nerves, despite Tezan doing most of the talking. That didn't mean he was very happy with these quarters though. Of course he preferred having proper weapons to a bed, but their constant lack of funds and basic amenities was wearing on his patience. Not even in his time after the fall of his noble home and the following drop in status to a mere rogue in Mezoberranzan's society, had he been faced with such poverty and right now he hated it more than anything. There wasn't even a way to bathe properly without using the public bathhouses!

Dinin wondered sometimes how the priest still managed to dredge up that constant flow of grins and flippant remarks, but then he didn't know very much of the other's past. Maybe Tezan had been forced to live in such conditions before and it wasn't anything new to him. He only knew that he was more than a little sick of living between clumsy humans and all those other disgusting creatures who lacked any sort of respect towards him and didn't appear to have even the most rudimentary concept of proper manners. To him the idea of simply staying here in this room where nobody would bother him suddenly seemed quite attractive.

Dinin was painfully aware though, that in order to keep this small sanctuary he would have to find a way of earning money, because there was no way of Tezan keeping him around if he didn't. To be alone and lost in this strange society without any sort of guidance was only becoming more terrifying the longer he had time to observe it. He still refused to look for work in any of the dingy taverns, but with his limited language skills his range of options was rather narrow and even the priest's uncommon patience with him was slowly but surely wearing thin.

“I'll go down to the docks”, Dinin announced abruptly and was already out of the pitifully creaking door before his companion could do more than make a short acknowledging noise. The walk to the harbour only served to remind him of his frustrating situation. Weaving through a colourful crowd which would have swiftly parted for him back in his hometown, when he was still a member of the noble house of Do'Urden did nothing to elevate his black mood.

After some time spent aimlessly walking around he settled down on a small wall. A spot which enabled him to stare out onto the endlessly shifting waters of the harbour while he was brooding. It was a sight that still tended to fascinate him, despite having come here quite often during the past few weeks. His thoughts were unerringly wandering back to his current predicament though.

If he didn't manage to make himself more useful very soon, he would have to seriously consider other ways of keeping Tezan's interest. He knew of course what he would have to do to achieve that, but while the idea of being a bouncer in any of the establishments around here was in no way appealing to him, that of whoring himself out to the priest disgusted him even more. In the past he had been forced to submit to the sexual wishes of most females around him, sometimes he had even worked towards creating an interest when it suited his plans, but doing the same for a male seemed somehow less acceptable to him. Like admitting that he was weaker, less able to fend for himself. Never mind the fact that Tezan clearly _was_ in a better position.

Damn the rat for being so adaptable and in control! The fact that, in most of his ventures as a thief, the cleric seemed very much able to work on his own and didn't usually request his company worried Dinin more than he would have liked. He just couldn't deny that his skill with weapons wasn't really frequently needed by someone who relied for the most part on simple stealth and secrecy to make his living.

The warrior's fist met the wall with an angry, violent motion, producing nothing but a sharp spike of pain. But at least that was something else to focus on. How had it come to this, Dinin asked himself in silent lament. How had he been reduced from the elevated position of his birth to that of a dependant and possibly even a kind of whore, forced to use his body this way to obtain even a small measure of security. Why had all his choices and options led to this? Damn the Gods for gifting him with such a debasing fate!

With all that helpless anger coursing hotly through his body he felt unable to sit still any longer and jumped up and pushed rudely past people ignoring their angry comments and glares. Secrecy be damned. If they wanted trouble they'd get it.

With that thought still in his mind he stalked around a corner only to crash into another body when they both tried to escape the collision by stepping sideways, unfortunately choosing the same direction.

“Can't you look where you're going?” a woman's voice snapped, while Dinin only growled wordlessly, barely suppressing the strong wish to slap her. Only a moment later he realised that his long ingrained submissive instincts towards all females had just saved him from more trouble, because she appeared to have at least three companions, who were now all staring at him with increasingly hostile expressions. Sailors if he were to judge by their clothing, while she herself looked more like some kind of mercenary with a short sword at one hip and a quiver full of arrows on the back. Not that he wouldn't be able to kill them all easily he decided after a quick evaluation, but doing so right now would certainly draw a lot of unwanted attention to his person.

The woman was still staring at Dinin, from under a generous mane of brilliantly red hair which spilled in gentle waves down past her shoulders. Her clear blue eyes held silent accusations and she seemed to be waiting for an apology. She was quite pretty for a human, he decided, but a human nonetheless and therefore beneath his standards.

“You're standing in my way”, he said sneering arrogantly, not willing to expend any energy on being polite. And it felt so very good not to hold it back for once! It was rewarding to watch her full lips compress into a thin line of irritation.

“Well don't let me hold you back then”, she said, sharp cut words dripping with sarcasm. But she did step a little to one side, apparently coming to the decision that this conflict was better solved by diplomatic retreat. Feeling suddenly far too elated at this small victory Dinin kept sneering and pushed rudely past her without saying another word. His sharp ears caught the muttered “Idiot!” as she and her friends turned to continue on their way and her obvious anger put a sly smile on his face. Antagonizing people on the street might not be the most intelligent thing to do, but it did send a small tingle of pleasure through his belly that he couldn't deny. If only Tezan were as easy to manage!

That thought put a sudden end to his previous good mood. He would have to go and look for a job after all and without any helpful contacts or even full understanding of the workings in this society his prospects weren't too good.

In fact they were even worse than the Drow had expected. After finally dredging up enough determination to go and ask about employment in a run down tavern Dinin discovered to his great dismay, that his fighting skills didn't improve his chances very much. The owner preferred bulky humans with brute strength to do this kind of work, since that didn't necessarily involve many weapons other than fists and the occasional broken bottle. Something which insured a considerably lower death rate than using swords or anything else that was sharp and lethal. While the occasional brawl was unavoidable, death just wasn't good for business he was told at least ten times that day until he came across an establishment with the misleading name The Golden Cup.

The only thing golden here was the single gold tooth which the small grubby man behind the bar flashed at Dinin when he asked for work. He looked at the slender elven form, gaze going up and down until the warrior felt very much like cattle for sale. Not a sensation he enjoyed very much. Narrow shoulders made a shrugging motion after the man had obviously come to some sort of conclusion.

“One of the serving wenches suddenly dropped out last night”, he said with a distinct lack of interest. “Other than that we haven't got anything to do for you.”

Dinin spent a minute staring mutely, working hard on reminding himself repeatedly that committing public murder, torture and bloodshed would not be to his advantage right now. Then he turned around without another word and left, fists clenched until they hurt. He was nearly choking on his outrage. To even suggest such a thing! Him serving drinks like a common slave! After all the considerable drops he'd had to suffer in his life this was still something he never would have thought about, dismissing the very idea as laughable and ridiculous.

And this filthy little man, normally nothing more than vermin to someone like Dinin, had dared to mock him like that. How he hated all humans right now. But even through the red haze of his boiling anger Dinin realised that he couldn't take out his frustrations on any of them in broad daylight, no matter how deserving the disgusting creatures might be of it. Instead he made his way towards the only place he could think of as shelter, hoping that Tezan wouldn't be there to aggravate him further with his stupid remarks.

He was to be greatly disappointed though. Not only was the infuriating cleric present, he also seemed to be in a rather playful mood if his sly grin was any indication.

“Get out!” Dinin snapped without any preliminaries, considering this a fair warning and more than Tezan actually deserved. He needed to be alone without anybody nagging him and the other could bloody well go somewhere else since he obviously wasn't doing anything important. The priest on the other hand blinked once in surprise, momentarily taken aback at this unexpected display of aggressiveness. He got over it quickly though, red eyes narrowing at the sight of the visibly angry fighter.

“And who has done something now to make you throw such a fit?” Tezan wanted to know, condescending amusement covering most, but not all of the annoyance he felt. Reflexively he began scanning Dinin for any traces of blood. He had thought the warrior more cautious, but if he had gotten himself into a fight and was bringing trouble here there would be a price to pay for him. After all the tedious searching and the interviews they had had to go through to get to this room Tezan didn't relish the thought of having to go somewhere else.

“Shut up. I'm not discussing this with you”, Dinin hissed, still too caught up in his anger to notice the subtle motions of someone readying a wand when his companion moved his arms in a seemingly placating gesture. Then abruptly Tezan's expression turned into a sneer.

“I take it you still have not found anything useful to do with your time”, he taunted, a sharp glint entering his eyes. A bucket full of icy water could not have had more effect on Dinin, who immediately stopped dead, one hand curling around the grip of a sword. He succeeded only partly at hiding the following internal debate, a small step backwards and the slight, disgusted curl of his lips betraying his expectations. Suddenly the idea of serving drinks didn't feel all that repulsive any more. At least he would learn more of the language that way.

“I might have.”

This pitiful attempt at evasion only prompted Tezan to a raise of white brows.

“Might”, he repeated clearly unimpressed and stepped closer. “Might is not good enough dear Dinin. Don't expect me to keep you here for the simple joy of watching you sulk.”

On the other hand, the warrior reasoned with himself as he forced his body into stillness; if he endured this once he'd still gain more time to look for an occupation more to his liking. Once couldn't be so bad. He had been through worse hadn't he?

Defeated Dinin let his head fall back against the thin wall and finally let go of his sword, hating himself for not being able to do anything else than this, for not having any idea what else he could do to survive. The anger he had felt earlier turned into something more like disgust in the face of his own weakness as he tried to fight down the beginnings of real fear. In his long centuries of life he had been in very few similar situations, but even these few he had worked very hard to forget. And he had almost succeeded. Until now. With a conscious effort he banished the terrible feeling of invisible hands ghosting over his body. It isn't real, he told himself. This is. Grit your teeth and get through it as you have always done.

He did nothing as Tezan stepped so close that their noses were almost touching, deeming this an obvious enough acceptance of what was to follow. It would have to suffice since he did not think he could make himself utter anything inviting. After a moments hesitation the priest finally put both hands on the wall next to either side of his head, all the while watching him for signs of possible attack. When Dinin only continued to stand very still he pressed against him and waited for a short while, as if to test the other's resolve.

“I'm not very good at pretending”, Dinin suddenly burst out, glaring, but with an odd, almost pleading note in his voice, trying to ignore the nimble fingers, which were gliding up his throat to establish a firm grip in the short hair at the back of his head. Tezan's only reaction was to grab his shoulder with a dirty smirk and roughly turn him around until he was facing the patchy wall. The slightly mouldy smell of crumbling plaster did nothing to soothe the feeling of sickness which had settled low in Dinin's stomach.

“Were you this whiny with the women as well?” the cleric asked with malicious amusement, his lips brushing against Dinin's ear, almost making him jump. “Did they laugh”, he whispered mockingly “when you cried after they had you?”

The fighter responded only by violently gritting his teeth, obviously doing his best to keep from lashing out. Tezan hadn't initially intended to taunt the already twitchy fighter like this, but he found he simply couldn't resist. He was aware that he might not be following the best course of action in forcing Dinin into something he so clearly did not want to do. Who would be able to resist though, he asked himself, when such an opportunity was dangling so temptingly in easy reach?

Just this one time, he promised himself, as his one hand slowly crept towards Dinin's belt, while the other was still buried in the fighter's magically darkened hair.


	9. The aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> „If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there"
> 
> Lewis Carroll

Dinin had left their little room in all haste. Storming out of the door while he was still pulling his threadbare trousers back into order. Now he was kneeling only one flight of stairs away, behind a pile of broken furniture, trying to keep the sounds of his retching down to a minimum. He decidedly did not want Tezan to hear how much this had affected him. Even the fact that he'd had to run away as soon as possible left him disgusted with his own weakness.

When he felt he could control himself again he resolutely wiped his mouth with a sleeve and stood up ignoring the bearable but persistent ache in his nether regions. Tezan had been reasonably considerate but nothing more than that. In way Dinin wished the priest hadn't done that. At least then he would have been able to concentrate on real pain instead of that nagging sense of humiliation, which was starting to drive him crazy already. He tried to console himself with bloody visions of Tezan tortured and screaming, but they felt stale and bitter to him, without any real substance, so he abandoned the attempt, trying instead not to think about the cleric at all.

Going back to the room was out of question at the moment, so Dinin left the building and stalked through the night. He kept to the poorer and less well lit parts of the city, trying without success to escape his own dark and circling thoughts. The longer he walked on dirty streets and through cluttered backyards the more he could feel red explosive rage building up inside himself. Dark hatred without reason or direction was bubbling in his head and chest, threatening to spill over at the slightest provocation.

“Hey beautiful, want some company?”

These words, spoken with a husky voice that could have been caused either by sickness or just a misguided attempt at seductiveness, stopped Dinin dead in his tracks. He turned around to regard the girl who had dared to interrupt his wandering. Her tired, slightly stooped posture and the red rimmed green eyes that shone with desperation told him clearly why she had made the effort to try and stop him. By her reasoning any elf would probably be a comparatively pleasant customer, if he could be persuaded to stay. The girl didn't look as if she'd had many of those lately.

“You a whore?” Dinin asked haltingly, even though the plain but revealing dress left little question regarding her occupation. His first impulse had been to simply ignore her and go on, but a sudden fit of morbid curiosity caused him to reconsider.

“Let me be good to you?” she offered with a false, hopeful smile, reaching out to tug on his sleeve. “I will give you a night to remember.”

Dinin blinked. For a moment he saw himself in that thin, desperate girl. Left with nothing else to do than sell himself. The mental picture nearly made him throw up again. Breathless with anger and loathing he said nothing, but didn't resist when she tried to lead him into a more secluded alley that branched off the already empty street. The emotions churning behind his deceptively blank face had him curl slender fingers around the hilt of his hidden knife. His hatred had finally found a purpose.

A few more steps and no human should be able to spot them in the relative darkness.

Only a little further.

Yes!

It felt so good to see her tired hope falter in the face of his insanely wide smile. It felt even better to hold the cold blade of his knife to her throat until she trembled with frightened little gasps and to slide it downwards almost tenderly, cutting away the grubby cloth of her dress and with it the last vestiges of pretence, while he held her mouth shut with his other hand.

No human would have been able to see the tears sticking to her lashes or hear the fluttery beating of her heart. She didn't even try to struggle very much, Dinin noted. There was no hope left in her. She was nothing like him, he decided angrily as he felt his blade cut easily through warm, dirty skin. Nothing!

Her screams where muffled by his lips, closing over hers in a brutal kiss that tasted of blood, while he felt warm wetness seeping through his clothes from where he had cut her open in a wide slash across her belly. This time he was the strong one. The one who had all the power. Dinin adjusted his grip to keep her thrashing under control. The rapidly weakening beat of her heart and the anguished moaning was like music to his ears as he pressed tightly against her to feel every last twitch and convulsion of her dying process. To see her eyes filled with mindless agony to watch them break and become dull and empty and to know that he had caused it! The thought filled Dinin with a deep satisfaction that let his thin lips split into a bloody grin of pure evil.

When it was finally over Dinin let her corpse drop to the ground and for the first time became aware of the fact that he was covered in blood. He was unpleasantly surprised as he realized how deeply absorbed he had been by this act of murder, because only now he heard the group of people, which was coming down the street where he had picked up the unlucky whore.

Fighting down the sudden urge to attack Dinin slowly pushed the dead body further to the side. The high of recent killing still sent little thrilling bursts of pleasure through his veins, but he couldn't let himself get carried away now. With the relative ease of long practise he concentrated on pushing these distracting feelings aside to listen keenly for a moment.

Just as he had concluded that he would still be quick enough to get away in the other direction Dinin heard another group entering the short side of the street. Hoping they all would ignore the smell of blood and death and decide to simply pass by the fighter stepped further into the darkness. He felt ill concealed there, but by now Dinin had gained just enough experience with the capabilities of human senses that he was sure they wouldn't be able to see him from the slightly brighter street. Nevertheless he crouched down, ready to spring if necessary.

Dinin cursed inwardly as he heard the sounds of both groups stopping not very far away from the mouth of his little dark alley. He had already estimated them at about four or five people each. Too many to dispatch quickly. If he had to fight them he'd need time and the noise might attract curious onlookers. He wondered briefly whether the mask he wore could be used to conceal the rather obvious bloodstains all over his clothing, but didn't dare to let his concentration wander that far from the humans out on the street.

They were clearly arguing over something the fighter noted with growing annoyance. Just as he started to consider finding another way to leave by going over the rooftops Dinin heard the distinctive sound of weapons being drawn. So there was to be a fight. That might actually benefit him he realized. If others died here nobody would think twice about the death of that whore. Now growing a little more curious he slowly edged closer towards the street.

As far as Dinin could see the two groups seemed to be quite evenly matched. None of the thugs who were now hacking away at each other with differing degrees of competence would have been able to best him, but at least some of them were better than anything he had seen until now. A smallish and chubby, but well groomed human caught his attention. He wasn't participating in the fight yet and judging by the insecure, fumbling way he was clutching his bejewelled dagger in one hand it was very clear that he had no intention to do so in the future. He was also holding a bag though, which he pressed tightly to his chest. Two of the men were obviously shielding him against another team of three. One human was already lying on the ground twitching weakly as he bled to death.

Dinin acted purely out of instinct as the air next to him began to waver slightly. Before he could consciously think about it one of his swords was speeding towards the disturbance in a wide ark. The warrior felt the impact of flesh and cursed quietly, because a split second later the unlucky wizard who had unwittingly teleported himself so close to the dangerous Drow began to scream in pain. He was obviously covered by an invisibility spell and would have gone unnoticed by everybody else if not for the screaming. The sound was enough for Dinin to guess where to stab next though. The following bite of his blade silenced the wizard forever.

That distraction had cost the life of another of the small man's defenders, but since the others were already splitting up to address the new threat he still stood a chance. Dinin abandoned all attempts at secrecy and stepped out on the street, revealing himself fully. If they wanted to fight he would oblige them. All the anger of the evening and the accumulated bloodlust were still thrumming insistently through his body, making him want nothing more than to hack these offending creatures into little pieces. How he hated humans! Dirty, unwashed vermin. The two thugs looked unsure for a moment as they found themselves facing what seemed to be an elf, but the blood splattered all over Dinin decided them quickly and they continued in their advance.

The warrior grinned with unsettling delight and drew his additional sword. If he could make this last it would be most satisfying.

In the end the whole encounter took less than ten minutes, even with the third man joining in after he had finally rid himself of his last opponent. Dinin allowed himself the luxury of playing with his victims, but he knew that he had to keep this under control. When he noticed the small man trying to edge away he made use of his drow ability to call forth a globe of impenetrable darkness. In the following confusion he stabbed all three of his enemies in quick succession and then followed the shuffling steps of the last remaining human.

Big blue eyes stared up at Dinin, filled with barely controlled horror. Chubby hands were still grasping the bag like a lifeline, but the dagger had long ago slipped from sweaty fingers.

“Please don't kill me”, the pathetic little figure whined with a high wavering voice that made Dinin grimace in distaste. “I can compensate you”, the man babbled, spitting out the words hastily. “I will give you lots of gold. Stealing the papers isn't worth your trouble. No matter what Cazzola pays you, I will double it! Triple it even!”

When Dinin showed no noticeable reaction to this he shrieked in growing panic: “Name your price I will give you anything! I swear it on my life!”

“Quiet!” Dinin hissed sharply, not wanting the noise to attract other people. He nearly groaned in exasperation the next moment though, when he heard more steps coming towards them. This night was turning out to be more exciting than he had expected. He just wasn't sure yet whether he liked this new turn of events.

“Oh no”, the small man moaned quietly as the next group of four came into sight. Not his friends then. Whatever he was carrying had to be quite valuable if someone was trying so hard to get it Dinin decided. From his earliest days he had been taught never to miss an opportunity however small it might seem, so he did his best to hide his contempt for the trembling little coward and put on a more neutral expression before he asked: “How much would you pay for my protection?”

“Anything!”

“I don't fight for empty promises”, Dinin growled back with an irritated scowl. He had no idea how much he could reasonably demand for his services and didn't want to embarrass himself by asking too little.

“Two hundred!” was the following offer, liberally coated in obvious desperation while wide blue eyes followed the inexorable approach of their attackers, who were already splitting into a loose formation, hands on the weapons. There were only two dozen steps left between them.

Two hundred in gold or silver, Dinin wondered. The first one would be quite acceptable even in his home town. He was about to ask for confirmation when the human made his next rather frantic offer. Pressing his back into the wall as if he wanted to merge into the rough stones while small beads of sweat ran down his face he cried: “Four hundred then, just please do something!”

Only a dozen steps left now. Time was running out.

“Agreed”, Dinin said with a casual shrug, mentally mapping out his next steps as he turned fully to face the new threat. He could still kill the little runt later, if it turned out that the price wasn't to his liking after all. At least he would have something to contribute now. Even that thrice damned priest would have to acknowledge that.


	10. Family

Dissatisfied, that was it. Tezan was dissatisfied. Oh sure, Dinin had been quite compliant once he had made up his mind, but that wasn't what Tezan actually wanted. What he had told Dinin when they first met hadn't been entirely a lie. He did like it better when people did more than just lie there like a corpse and wait passively until he was done. Even serious resistance was more exciting than that. Of course you didn't always get what you wanted. And with Dinin such behaviour had to be expected. Tezan had let his greed overrule his common sense and now he would have to live with the consequences. Grimacing moodily the cleric stepped up to the tiny window and stared out into the night. The whole thing hadn't really been worth upsetting the fighter he decided. The next time he would have to quell his urges or simply find another more satisfying outlet.

Tezan's grin came back suddenly when he realized that he actually did have a potential other outlet. There was still that enticing boy he had met on the road, the one who should be working in one of the cities hospitals right now. It shouldn't be hard to track him down. There couldn't be that many elves working there. And even if something went wrong; with his sister already back home nobody else would know Tezan by sight, so nobody would even know who to look for when the boy was gone. In fact, since he had little else to do, why not start right now? The prospect of seduction was certainly more enticing than to stay here brooding, thinking about the stupid mistakes he had made tonight.

Cautiously the cleric stepped through the door, half expecting to encounter some vicious trap set by Dinin while he was still angry enough not to care about consequences. It seemed the fighter had better judgement than that though. No ugly surprises were waiting for him. Now grinning again in anticipation Tezan continued out of the shabby building and made his way through the city. He had been here for long enough to know where he had to go. And since he felt surer now as to what would be considered appropriate behaviour he had no fear of discovery any longer. Little Jiqael was definitely in for a surprise tonight!

He was to be disappointed though. After walking into the second hospital on his mental search-list and making a polite enquiry, Tezan was informed that, yes, someone named Jiquael did actually work here, but he had gone home already and would he like to leave a message?

Would he?

“No, I guess I'll just drop by some other day, but thank you for your kind assistance”, Tezan assured the eager looking young man in the strangely faded yellowish tunic that all the healers and assistants seemed to be required to wear around here. If the boy really had more relatives working in this place he didn't want to draw too much attention to himself. Better to leave now and try again another day.

Dissatisfied again the Drow melted back into the thinning crowd and let himself drift along aimlessly until he saw a sign which said Blak Swann in crooked mouldy-green letters. It dangled above a door which had been fixed very badly after someone had put a big hole in it. The writing was crammed underneath something that was probably supposed to be a swan, but looked more like a small and very toothless dragon that some well meaning soul had slathered liberally with black paint. Not that Tezan had ever seen a swan. The harbour was mostly populated with horribly screeching seagulls.

Time for a drink, the cleric decided morosely. The sign definitely fitted his dark mood. Maybe some entertainment could be found in the undoubtedly dirty, low class interior of that tavern. His presence might even provoke a fight, which would give him an outlet for his increasingly bad temper. Elves of any kind were generally not an expected sight in such establishments and he would probably stick out like a sore thumb. He resolutely put his hand on the door and gave it a good push.

Tezan could feel the distrustful looks of the other patrons as he stepped through the entrance, his slender silhouette clearly outlined against the light of the street lanterns behind him. Inside the Blak Swann it was a lot darker than on the street. A circumstance that the cleric found quite soothing. He still had no liking for the excessive illumination which the humans had to employ during the night time.

Seemingly unperturbed by the low grumbling noises his sudden entrance caused throughout the room, Tezan walked towards the bar which was built sturdily enough to withstand most barfights, even though it did sport some rather deep scratches here and there. He simply ignored the strong smell of alcohol mixed with that of cheap, overcooked food. At least it was still early enough that the usual hint of vomit wasn't too overwhelming yet.

Only after a few moments the cleric noticed that all those looks seemed to be focused not only on himself, but on somebody else as well. As he followed those other looks he almost found himself taking a step backwards. There at the back of the room in a dark corner: The distinctive white hair and black skin of another drow immediately caught his attention. That was bad! A drow posed even more danger than any actual surface Elf. Especially considering his current disguise.

Thoughts of possible escape routes warred with plans of attack in his head for a few frantic seconds until Tezan noticed something he really should have seen earlier. That the Drow was not only making no move to attack, ignoring him instead, but he also had two scimitars hanging from his hip. Even if he hadn't just spent the last months with Dinin Do'Urden, Tezan would have had no trouble remembering what kind of weapon the other surviving member of that family favoured. Considering the general scarcity of drow around here there was little doubt in his mind about the identity of this one. How thrilling! Determined to find out if his theory was correct Tezan sat down at the bar, after a curt, perfunctory nod in the direction of that intriguing drow who might or might not be the infamous Drizzt Do'Urden he had already heard so much about but had never laid eyes on.

The cleric knew he'd have to be very careful though. The other might have more experience than he did when it came to the correct behaviour of a surface elf and to make things even more difficult, the stranger would definitely recognize all the little things that gave him away as drow. Tiny details which nobody else would ever see. He couldn't risk a lot of direct contact then.

For the time being Tezan contented himself with watching the small group around the drow in the grubby mirror above the bar. He couldn't really make out all that much through the thick layer of dust and grime that covered the glass, but it kept him occupied until his drink arrived. The sourly human who pushed the only half filled mug towards him was at least as grimy as the mirror and smelled like a rotten cabbage. He was probably hoping that his unwelcome new patron would leave once he had finished what little beer he'd been given. Tezan smiled thinly, thanked him and gave the little wretch a good tip. He was almost vibrating with excitement and curiosity. Something nobody would have been able to tell from the outside as he slouched on his shaky stool, the very picture of arrogant boredom.

There was a human woman with brilliantly red hair, who seemed almost glued to the drow's side. This only hardened Tezan's suspicions. He'd been in Waterdeep long enough to have heard at least some tales of the drow ranger and his human companion with the deadly bow. Mostly interspersed with curses thrown in by embittered pirates who had warned him against engaging the ship those two sailed on. There had been warnings about a big black cat as well, but Tezan couldn't see anything that looked like an animal. He could make out three other men though. Sailors he judged by their clothing. Well at least they didn't appear to have a wizard with them.

While Tezan considered all this, the tension in the room rose steadily. Everybody seemed to expect him to do something, because they kept glancing towards him, then to the supposed Do'Urden and back to him as if there was some kind of script he was failing to follow. Inwardly he was grinning with delight, almost dying with curiosity. Finally something interesting was happening. Maybe all those years spent in Menzoberranzan, barely skipping along on the edges of danger, always living with the lingering fear of discovery by the ruling theocrats, had left him addicted or at least precariously accustomed to this kind of thrill. The other drow was still ignoring him, with an almost stubborn determination. That suited Tezan well, as it gave him ample time to observe, while he pushed his drink around, pretending to take a sip every now and then.

He wondered only briefly what Dinin would have to say about being in such close proximity to his wayward brother. Drow weren't very invested in family relations at the best of times and the fighter had already reacted quite badly when Tezan had brought up his family name at their first encounter. But Dinin was out there sulking anyway. He would just have to deal with whatever happened tonight.

Tezan left just before the general agitation could result in nervous action and become something truly dangerous. Since he didn't want to confront the strange Drow directly before he was absolutely sure of his identity this was all he could have for now. After slinking away into dark streets and climbing up to the nearest roof Tezan turned back and found himself a nice spot just across the tavern he had just vacated. Now he'd see were the group was headed. Maybe he'd try following them too. In a city as busy as this one even a drow with his sharp senses would have trouble to make out a single, silent follower. At least if this follower was as skilled as Tezan had become over long years of dedicated practise. And even if they noticed someone following them, that didn't mean they'd know who he was.

It took nearly an hour for the group to come out, but Tezan was nothing if not patient. At least when it came to matters like this one. It was what he did best. Wait in the shadows for the perfect opportunity to strike, then make his move and melt away into those same shadows afterwards, never seen, never heard. It was what made him such a perfect follower of his chosen deity, Vhaeraun. It was such a pity that even up here in the night above he had to rely on secrecy and couldn't put on the veil, which would have clearly marked him as one of the masked Lord's followers. Oh well, his Lord would forgive him, he was sure.

Tezan did scrunch up his delicate nose briefly in distaste, when the high pitched, giggling laugh of the red haired woman reached his ears as the five passed underneath his vantage point. Such a grating sound. Well for the half deaf humans it probably wouldn't be so bad he amended silently, but he was wondering how the Drow could bear it and even smile brightly in response. Maybe the whole Do'Urden family was a bit touched in the head. At least he finally got a confirmation for his suspicions. The Drow was indeed Drizzt, as the obnoxious woman apparently couldn't help but bleat all over the street in another fit of giggles. Slow strangulation was too good for her.

Still gripped by burning curiosity Tezan climbed across yet another roof to see where they went. He was a bit disappointed when after almost an hour of seemingly aimless wandering it turned out to be the harbour. The five got on their ship and even though he stayed for another few hours, crouched behind an empty barrel that smelled strongly of rotting fish, nothing more of interest happened. Well he should have expected something like that Tezan admonished himself. At least he knew where to find the intriguing Do'Urden now. He'd go back tomorrow to watch him some more. And then he'd put on a more suitable disguise. One that took more work to create but would enable him to blend in and get closer to his quarry. Satisfied with this resolution he turned around to go back to his own tiny dwelling, wondering distractedly whether Dinin would be back already.

He was, as Tezan discovered when he opened the door very carefully, still wary of any traps the fighter might have left for him. There were no traps though. Only Dinin himself, without the magical mask for once. Maybe he had grown tired of it. Tezan thought it was a nice sight, whatever reason had made him take it off. Dinin was sitting cross-legged on a pillow, his back to the wall and one of his swords resting across his thighs. Red eyes opened as soon as Tezan stepped into the small room and fixated him with an ominous stare. For a moment the cleric faltered, unsure of Dinin's mood. Then he noticed a pile of bloody clothes and a bulging sack next to the other's feet and raised a questioning eyebrow.

“The next time you touch me, I will cut off your hands”, Dinin informed him icily. He was still sulking then. How childish.

“Well it seems as though this time was enough to get you off your lazy ass”, Tezan snapped back, momentarily overcome by irritation. “Because it sounds like you finally found a means to provide your share of our upkeep.”

Dinin only fixed him with another stony stare, which told all to clearly how much he still resented the other for his actions. How inconvenient when Tezan wanted nothing more than to share his exciting news. The fighter didn't look to be in a fitting mood for revelations like that though. He'd have to find a way of cheering him up first. Repressing a heartfelt sigh of exasperation the cleric raised his hands in a placating gesture.

“Fine. I may have acted a bit rashly”, Tezan admitted, hiding his irritation and putting on an almost contrite expression instead. It was as close as he'd ever get to an apology, because as far as he was concerned, he'd been totally within his rights in this matter.

“Maybe next time we can find a way of doing things differently”, he offered generously.

“There won't be a next time”, Dinin only glared in answer to his gracious proposal.

“If you say so”, Tezan replied doubtfully, not quite satisfied with the result of his little attempt at reconciliation. This feeling only grew as Dinin got up, waving his sword disconcertingly close to his body in the process. Even though he refused to twitch or react at all to this deliberate, but rather laughable threat, Tezan was growing more irritated by the second.

“Yes I say so!” grated the angry fighter, stepping close to Tezan in a ridiculous attempt at intimidation. “And I will not tell you again.”

Oh really? Angry himself now, Tezan suddenly decided to abandon all efforts at consideration. If Dinin insisted on being obstinate he would repay him in kind.

“I saw your brother today”, the slender cleric said, his smile like ice, raptly staring at Dinin's face, which lost colour with astonishing speed at the revelation.

“What?” Dinin gasped weakly, almost swaying in shock. He resisted the urge to look around in panic, but only barely. His back was suddenly prickling with nervous tension.

“He was cavorting with a bunch of humans”, Tezan continued mercilessly. “I really don't know how he can stand them.”

“You are absolutely certain?” the fighter pressed, almost hoping that Tezan was only lying to see him flustered.

“What do you think?” Tezan asked back, a wicked grin spreading on his lips. This was even better than he had hoped. He'd never seen Dinin so panicked before.

“We have to go”, the fighter decided and started pacing nervously. “We have to leave the city!”

“Excuse me?” his strong reaction took Tezan by surprise. He had anticipated and even hoped for the initial shock, but this sudden almost mindless urge to flee was not quite what he expected from a seasoned soldier like Dinin.

“We have to go!” Dinin repeated more urgently, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword until his knuckles turned a sickly grey with the pressure.

“I'm not going anywhere”, the other refused flatly, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Really, what kind of ridiculous reaction was this?

“You don't understand!” Dinin was almost wailing now. He was going to say more, but Tezan cut him off with a deep frown.

“I understand quite enough, thank you” the cleric said curtly. “If you're so vithin scared of your little brother, maybe you should consider killing him so you'd have nothing to worry about anymore. It is quite simple really. If the city is not big enough for both of you, you'll have to dispose of him, because I am not leaving.”

At this Dinin paled even more.

“I'm not going anywhere near him!” he insisted with a strangled voice, eyes wide and frightened. Tezan could only shake his head bemusedly.

“You know, “ he said slowly, sneering arrogantly. “This fear you are displaying so openly, seems quite irrational to me. Even if he is as good with his scimitars as everybody says, he will have weak spots one can exploit. Everybody has those. If anything in this life is certain, if history has taught us anything, it is that you can kill anyone. So stop behaving like a bloody iblith and calm yourself.”

For a moment Dinin really hesitated in his frantic pacing and looked thoughtful, but in the next second he was already shaking his head. Tezan repressed the exasperated groan that was crawling up the back of his throat.

“No”, the fighter said determinedly, ignoring the insult Tezan had just thrown in his face as if it didn't matter. “You don't know him. He's a killer.”

In moments like this one Tezan wanted to strangle Dinin, but then he'd be alone, without anybody to talk to. The fighter was very different from him in many aspects, but at least he was drow. The world up here was lonely if you considered almost every other race to be far beneath you. He'd be damned if he let a little thing like this stand in his way. It would be a shame to kill the interesting Do'Urden brother before he could find out more about him, but if that was what it took to keep Dinin here, he would do it. Maybe he would even enjoy the challenge.

 


	11. A thin veneer

Dinin was almost beside himself with the irrational panic, that had gripped him as soon as the damning words were out of Tezan's mouth. Drizzt here. So close. Much too close! It seemed his brother would always continue to haunt him wherever he went, like a sticky shadow he couldn't shake off no matter what he did. Why couldn't the little bastard just mind his own business? For a bitter moment this angry thought was almost enough to make him consider the cleric's insane suggestion. To finally be rid of the bane of his existence would certainly make him breathe easier. But no, he still remembered the feeling of cold dread he'd had crawling inside his chest, when he had been utterly convinced that Drizzt would kill him in that tunnel where they had caught up to him. Not even Vierna in her state of dangerous madness had been able to get him near Drizzt and now when he still had the time and space to run he'd definitely do so. Tezan could go and meet his doom on his own if he so needed to do it, the fighter decided and started to pick up his scarce belongings with sharp, almost violent movements.

“What do you think you're doing?” Tezan demanded quietly. His strange tone should have alerted Dinin, but the fighter's attention was still occupied by dark memories of his brother and the irresistible need to run that was scratching on the inside of his chest like a panicked rat trying to get out.

“Packing”, Dinin replied shortly, thinking it was fairly obvious. “I'm leaving.”

He was not prepared to have his wrist seized in an iron grip and flinched skittishly at the sudden contact.

“You are not leaving”, the priest stated calmly.

“Of course I am!” Dinin insisted and tugged sharply to extricate his wrist from Tezan's increasingly firm grip, but the cleric's finger only dug deeper into his skin, beginning to bruise him with their force.

“No, you are not.”

“And how do you think you're going to keep me here? Are you planning to chain me to the wall?” Dinin demanded acidly.

“I won't have to”, Tezan said with a small smile that instantly made Dinin go cold inwardly. “Because the only way you'll be leaving this city will be on eight legs instead of two.”

All thoughts of further movement came to a stuttering halt inside of Dinin's head. He paled for the second time that night, his free hand falling to his side nervelessly. He couldn't help the feelings of betrayal that welled up at the threat, even though he probably should have known better.

“What, you don't think I could reverse what I've done to you?” the cleric asked sharply. “I will, if you keep up this foolishness.”

He could feel the panicked shiver which ran through Dinin's body at the idea. The fighters face betrayed his bone deep fear at the thought of going back to that terrible existence as a drider. Apparently he believed the claim without question. That was good, because Tezan was very much aware that he couldn't actually do what he'd just threatened. Turning others into driders was something only a true priestess of Lolth could accomplish. He could only hope that Dinin wouldn't decide to put him to the test, but he was counting on the fighter being more afraid of another transformation than of his brother, who was only made of ordinary flesh and blood after all.

The fighter slumped against the nearest wall as Tezan finally let go of his wrist, sure now that the other wouldn't just run off. Dinin looked ill and hopeless, but as long as he stayed the priest didn't much care about the fighter's state of mind. Dinin would recover eventually, he was sure of it. Most drow had a very resilient mindset. It was one of the things that allowed them to survive the harsh realities of the Underdark.

“Come now, don't be like that”, Tezan admonished the warrior, a bit disturbed despite himself, by this unusually open show of defeated fearfulness. “Look, if you promise to stay and not do anything stupid, I will promise to keep out of his way. He has no idea you're here and he should be leaving the city soon enough anyway. According to the rumours and stories I've heard he doesn't usually stay here for very long.”

Of course Tezan had no intentions of actually staying away from Drizzt, but he'd decided that it certainly couldn't hurt to soothe Dinin's fears a bit. If only to keep the fighter from making foolish decisions, like running off as soon as his back was turned. It was not like anybody would notice Tezan while he was just looking. He would be careful and neither Dinin nor Drizzt would ever know.

“You've collected stories about Drizzt?”

Tezan nonchalantly shrugged off the underlying distrust in Dinin's question.

“Well, yes. I have heard many other things as well, but you've got an interesting family and I was curious.”

“A family far more interesting than I ever cared for”, Dinin told him tiredly, but he finally seemed to be recovering from his earlier shock. “Some day your curiosity will be the death of you”, he added with a decisive shake of his head and went back to his resting place near the wall, settling himself on his pillow with his sword in his lap. He really wished he could just kill Tezan, but there was no guarantee that he'd survive any kind of open assault on the cleric. Even if he was injured he had no way to heal himself and he was quite sure nobody here would help an injured Drow, no matter how much money was offered.

“So you'll be sensible and stay?” Tezan couldn't help but asking, even though the look of bleak resignation dawning on Dinin's face indicated exactly that.

“It's not like you've left me any other choice now, is it?” Dinin replied with a bitter frown. “Please do at least promise me that you will not go after him”, he added, looking so intense that Tezan almost began to doubt the wisdom of his plan. The moment didn't last long though.

“Of course I won't. I just said so, didn't I?” he replied, the lie slipping easily over his lips. Dinin only cast him a doubtful glance before he took up his usual position for reverie and closed his eyes, abruptly and effectively ending the conversation. That was fine with Tezan though, who had much to plan for anyway.

The priest slipped outside early the next morning, taking great care not to disturb the fighter in his rest. Then he went about gathering the necessary ingredients for his intended disguise. He had already decided that a human boy would probably be the least suspicious thing he could impersonate. There were a lot of children running around the docks every day and his small, slender built and smooth face gave him a good base to work with, so that he wouldn't have to change too many things in his appearance. He wouldn't even have to use much magic, something he didn't like to do anyway, because it could very easily be detected by a wizard if he was actively looking for such things. And since the street children here generally did not have any magical possessions it would look odd if Tezan radiated too much magic of any kind.

The cleric quickly found a street child willing to trade his old and worn garments for something newer and better. He took care to conduct this part of his business as far away from the harbour as possible to minimize the risk of meeting that boy again. He didn't really appreciate the smell of stale sweat and general mouldiness that came with the threadbare garments, but to have them cleaned would only lessen their usefulness and make his guise less believable.

After the careful application of dirt to his person Tezan put on the clothes and a cap to hide his pointed ears. He had mussed up his already dyed and dirtied hair and now pulled it into his face to hide the distinctively elven shape of his eyes. As long as he didn't get too close to anybody and took care not to move too gracefully, he wouldn't be recognized as elven.

Then a bit of brightening powder and a quick additional glamour to hide the dark shade of his skin and the deep red of his eyes and he was finished. He hoped that the glamour was small and subtle enough to escape notice in the case of a superficial inspection, because he really couldn't do without it. It was necessary to hide the deep ebony colour of his skin, something no amount of powder and cosmetics could ever do reliably. As he worked on trying to reproduce the youthful swagger of a street boy he felt almost giddy with excitement. Soon he'd see his prey up close. It didn't matter to him that there was nothing substantial he could gain from this endeavour, but a rather immaterial feeling of adventure. The chase was quite enough for Tezan. Enough to make an otherwise boring day become so much more interesting.

Tezan encountered no problems as he made his way to the docks and to his satisfaction his disguise seemed to hold up well. People frequently sent him wary looks and snarled at him to get out of the way. They did that a lot less when he wore his elven guise. The cleric made a mental note that, if he were ever to hone his skills at pickpocketing again he'd have to choose a different look than this one. It only made things unnecessarily difficult. He spent the day wandering along the docks, keeping to the sidelines and watching the ship which housed Drizzt Do'Urden from afar.

As the day went on, the drow could witness the arrivals of several deliveries, consisting of barrels and other big packages and concluded that the ship would probably head out onto the open sea quite soon. Disappointed to have this pleasurable pastime cut short, he finally decided to dare going closer. The last packages to be delivered were still in the process of being loaded onto the ship by means of a pulley. Drizzt was there, helping like everybody else, apparently indifferent to the bright sunlight, which still stung in Tezan's eyes more than he cared to admit.

After the sailors had done their job and everybody started to disperse a bit Tezan crept even closer to watch Drizzt, who was lounging near the railing. He had to admit that this Do'Urden was even prettier than his brother. That he would be more willing was doubtful though, considering the way he was longingly staring at the terrible red haired woman right now, while she had her back to him. It was hard to misinterpret that kind of look. Drizzt clearly wanted her. The cleric shook his head in disbelief. How could anybody even entertain the notion of bedding a human? They were so far beneath oneself that it was almost like taking an animal.

Tezan was momentarily so wrapped up in his thoughts of astonished revulsion that he failed to notice the pricked ears and sniffing nose of the big black panther that had so far been resting in a lazy sprawl on the deck of the ship. If he had noticed, what happened next wouldn't have surprised him so much, because the big feline raised her head in interest, sniffed a few moments longer and proceeded to jump over the railing in one big lunge only to land directly on top of him. The unlucky drow went down with an undignified squawk of alarm as he got buried under a small mountain of black fur and hard muscle. This was definitely not how he had planned things!

“Guen!” somebody cried a good six feet above him, as he struggled to breathe and Tezan couldn't quite decide if he actually wanted the panther lifted off his person only to be discovered as an imposter immediately afterwards. He had no illusions that his disguise would hold up to a close inspection. How embarrassing! He needed a plan and he needed it quickly.

When he got a little more breathing space a few moments later, he still had no idea what to do, which was really a pity, because Drizzt Do'Urden was already staring past the rather big head of his hellish panther. Tezan went rigid as said head bent down towards his face. A long, agile and rather rough tongue came out between rows of white, pointed teeth and licked squarely over his cheek, dispelling even his last hope of getting out of this without being discovered for what he was. Since he had made the glamour so weak his dark skin would begin to shine through now that the powder on his cheek was gone. Maybe it was something in the powder, Tezan thought hazily as he recovered from not being eaten on the spot. Not that the continued licking did much to improve his condition. An overpowering smell of cat, primal and predatory, choked him as he tried to keep breathing despite the weight on his chest.

The concerned trepidation, which had marked Drizzt's face before now quickly gave way to puzzlement and after that to the first spark of suspicion.

“Who are you?” the drow warrior wanted to know slowly, watching the thin layer of Tezan's stolen identity disappear further with each eager swipe of the rough tongue. Masked Lord, Tezan pleaded silently, let me get out if this alive and I will kill the merchant who sold me that stupid powder!

Well, there seemed to be nothing for it the priest decided. Better tell the relatively innocent truth now than to be interrogated more thoroughly later on. Maybe he could confuse the other enough to slip away quietly. The plain truth tended to confuse people with astonishing reliability.

“I am called Tezan”, the cleric answered with a wide smile, ignoring how hard it was to breathe right now. “And as you've probably already noticed I'm a drow, just like you”, he continued amicably, causing a rather conflicted look to spread on Drizzt's surprisingly expressive face. Well, expressive for a drow.

“And you're spying on me because?”

At this Tezan tried to shrug only to fail spectacularly, because that hellcat was still weighing him down, but he didn't let that deter him and said lightly: “Oh, I was just curious.”

“Curious”, Drizzt echoed doubtfully, not quite sure what to make of this. He'd had enough experience with his people to be more than sure that the majority of his kin rarely did anything only because they were, as that strange person in front of him had put it, “curious”. Usually there was something to be gained. He cast a quick uneasy look around the docks, wondering whether there was an assassin hidden somewhere, watching him right now, slender finger resting around the trigger of a crossbow, beneath a cold smile. Something he probably wouldn't be able to discover until it was far too late.

“Don't worry. I'm alone”, Tezan said, easily interpreting the glance. He was feeling uneasy himself at admitting such a thing out loud, but maybe it would work in his favour. He sighed softly when Drizzt didn't look at all reassured by that information. The eyes with that interesting lavender hue narrowed with distrust, which was not quite the effect that the cleric had hoped for.

“Would you mind getting your pet off my chest while you consider this?” Tezan asked hopefully since he was actually wheezing a little by now.

Instead of giving him an answer though Drizzt only turned around for a moment to yell for someone who was apparently called Robillard.

“Robillard is our wizard”, he deigned to explain shortly as he turned back.

“How nice”, Tezan gasped back weakly and started to wish he would miraculously vanish and reappear somewhere else. This was not going how he'd planned it. The wizard was bad, but the priest was still hesitating as he considered mounting a magical defence. With the wizard, the cat, Drizzt and all the sailors around here he was sorely outnumbered. His obvious dark heritage wouldn't help him either if he were to try and attack so openly. Not that he had much chance of completing an attack with Drizzt and the cat so close to him. He'd have to be truly desperate to start any kind of fight from this position.

Maybe he'd be desperate enough quite soon, Tezan thought, his neck prickling with an ever growing sense of impending doom as he waited for the wizard to arrive.

“He will not hurt you, as long as you do not act hostile towards us”, Drizzt was telling him earnestly, as if he actually expected to be believed.

“Oh please save your breath”, Tezan muttered, but decided to save his own precious air for more important conversations. He really wanted to slap the younger Do'Urden for putting on such a stupid charade. As if he'd ever expect mercy from another Drow.


	12. Asking the right questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is the last chapter in which we have no changes from the FF.net version. After this comes uncharted territory!

 

The wizard, a short stocky human, didn't seem to mind Tezan's disparaging gaze as he settled into a crouch next to the incapacitated Drow. Well, he did have the upper hand here, the cleric thought gloomily. He watched the beard in front of him quiver with the next words.

“I'm going to cast a truth spell on you, so we can verify what you're telling us”, the human explained, only confusing Tezan with his well meaning words. Of course they were going to cast a truth spell. To him that was a matter of course. And then they'd do who knew what else. There really was no need to be gloating about that.

“Whatever”, he grated shortly. “Just do it quickly, before I suffocate here.”

As he heard the casting begin and felt a tingle and sudden comfortable warmth settle over him he grew a bit alarmed. This was not the kind of truth ward he was used to. Very soon his feelings of alarm abated and left only a kind of warm coziness behind that confused him but was really too nice to seriously try and shake off immediately. Curiously Tezan tried to examine the relaxed happiness, that was spreading in his mind. He knew intellectually that it was dangerous for him to feel this way, but at the same time the alien feeling was something he had never quite encountered before and so he found it interesting enough to spend some time trying to work through it. Very few drow ever let themselves feel this carefree and the ones who did usually ended up dead quite soon. Maybe that should have warned him, but he couldn't manage to dredge up enough determination to fight it yet.

“Well”, the cleric mumbled dreamily to himself. “This is certainly strange.”

Guenwyvar, obviously sensing the change in her captive, finally shifted to give the slender drow beneath her a little more breathing space. Robillard and Drizzt exchanged a look and the wizard nodded, indicating that Drizzt might begin his questioning.

“Why are you here?”

“But I already told you that”, Tezan grinned, his open, smiling expression very much different from anything he or any other drow would usually produce. “I was curious and wanted to see what about the great Drizzt Do'Urden made Dinin so afraid that he'd rather run like a frightened rothe than at least consider to stay and face you.”

A fleeting frown passed the powder streaked face.

“Maybe you could do me a favour and forget I just said that”, Tezan asked hopefully already smiling unconcernedly again. “I don't think your brother would be very happy if he knew that you're aware of his presence.”

“My... brother?” Drizzt choked, rather shocked by the unexpected news. The last he'd seen of Dinin didn't make him think it possible that his brother would be able to hide in a city like this. Not with the big unwieldy body of a drider. With a small shiver he thought back to Vierna's smiling face as she had told him, gloating about her terrible deed. For all he remembered Dinin should be dead.

“I think you're mistaken”, he said faintly, fervently hoping for his words to be true. “Dinin can't be here.”

“Oh, no. There's no way I'm wrong”, Tezan answered decisively. “I needed his full name to turn him back after all. He was a drider you know. Lucky for him that the fat spider seems to have abandoned her flock for the moment or I wouldn't have been able to do anything except kill him on the spot. Serves them right though. I do hope that someone takes it onto himself to gut all those spider kissing bitches back in Menzoberranzan while they're still weak and hangs them by their own entrails!”

Drizzt just stared, not quite able to decide if he should be appalled by the happy gloating about killing priestesses of Lolth.

“Why is Dinin here?” he asked then, trying to smother his rising emotions of concern and apprehension. Whenever his family turned up they seemed only to bring harm to him and his loved ones. This time it was possible that things wouldn't turn out like that, since it did not sound as if Dinin had come after him specifically, but after bitter experience he didn't dare to let himself hope for too much.

“Because I made him come. Dinin didn't want to go anywhere near the city. He only wanted to crawl back into the depths of the Underdark, the coward. I actually had to blackmail him into going”, Tezan admitted with a small giggle as if this was all highly amusing. “Not that he is exactly easy to get along with”, the cleric complained, suddenly sulky. “He still resents me for the one time I fucked him. And I wasn't even rough or anything.”

At this Robillards eyes widened, but Drizzt, more accustomed to the habits of his people and the importance rank and power held among the drow when it came to sexual matters, only frowned slightly. He still remembered how much Dinin had always disliked being with males. Not even as a Master at Melee Magthere or on patrol had he ever seen his brother making use of his right to take students and subordinates to his bed as some of the others regularly had. It looked as if this Tezan, as he had called himself, held some power over his brother then, because Drizzt couldn't imagine how else the other might have persuaded Dinin to allow such an act to take place. He decided to ignore his distaste for the time being in favour of gaining more useful insights. Before he could ask anything else though, Tezan drew a deep breath and shook his head with a deep frown, obviously trying to clear it.

“He is already shaking it off”, Robillard remarked surprised. “It usually takes longer than this.”

“By the masked Lord!” Tezan said darkly, suddenly looking a lot less relaxed and happy as he realized what he had so carelessly revealed during the last minute. Dinin would kill him with his bare hands when he found out. “I can't believe you made me tell that so easily!” he exclaimed in astonishment. “What kind of spell is this?”

“Do not worry”, Robillard answered sourly. “It generally works only once on such distrustful creatures as yourself. From now on we will have to rely on other means of gaining information.”

“There really isn't much else to tell”, the cleric admitted morosely. “As I said, I merely wanted to watch. It was never my intention to actually take any action. I apologize for startling you.”

“I don't understand. Why would you wish to observe me? What would you gain by that?” Drizzt wanted to know, his distrust still obvious. Tezan gave him a look of plain surprise.

“Don't you realise?” he asked disbelievingly. “You're famous or maybe I should say infamous. It rather depends on who you're talking to.” He grinned again, but it was a darker grin this time, though no less amused. “You're the one who the old hag Baenre used as an excuse to drag half the city through the whole Underdark to an old dwarven stronghold that held absolutely no importance to anybody but her. And then you even managed to get her killed, which I personally appreciated very much by the way. I was merely interested in seeing you, maybe discover a few differences between you and Dinin. Anyway it seemed like an interesting way to spend my day. In fact it has become rather more interesting than I'd originally planned.”

Tezan shrugged nonchalantly, apparently recovered from the small shock his fatal lapse of caution had given him or merely determined to ignore whatever hole he had dug for himself by revealing such sensitive information. He didn't miss the helpless looks that were exchanged between the wizard and Drizzt though and decided that now was the time to try and influence things in his favour.

“You're wondering what to do with me aren't you?” he asked them, but left no time for an answer before he continued: “Well this is still a free city, no? You could just let me walk away, since I haven't done anything.”

“You are sure that he didn't lie?” Drizzt wanted to know from Robillard, still wearing a dubious expression.

“I'm reasonably sure, yes”, the wizard replied. “People are mostly compelled to say the first thing which comes into their mind when put under that kind of enchantment.”

“But he could have trained himself to lie?”

Robillard slowly shook his head.

“I don't think he knew the enchantment and its peculiar nature until today or it wouldn't have worked on him at all. It might just be possible that he was doing exactly what he said.”

Tezan suddenly felt the silly urge to say something stupid like, I told you so, but he resisted.

“And you are living with my brother?” Drizzt asked again, beginning to feel slightly daft as he repeated the same questions over and over.

“Yes”, Tezan said slowly, obviously agreeing with that feeling. “And he will be much easier to live with, if he doesn't find out that you know about that.”

Drizzt sighed deeply. He had a little trouble coming to terms with the realization that he wasn't the last Do'Urden left after all. He knew Dinin too well to expect any fundamental changes in his personality though and he could still remember, better than he wished to, how he had once seen the other gleefully hack his way through the defenceless bodies of a group of surface elves. His brother had delighted in the bloodshed like most drow would. Was it Drizzt's responsibility to save the city from his brother's undoubtedly villainous tendencies? And even if he just took Tezan himself: He had revealed himself as a rather typical drow in only a few freely spoken sentences. Could Drizzt, in good conscience, allow him to go free? But was it actually his place to judge this time? It wasn't like Waterdeep didn't harbour her fair share of shady characters even without these two individuals. But Dinin was family. Family in a warped and very jaded way by the standards of the surface world, but it made him different nonetheless. It made Drizzt feel more responsible, and even though he was aware that it was not a logical feeling he could not quite shake it off. By all rights he shouldn't even care since he had broken ties with his homeland long ago. But somehow, deep down it seemed he still did.

“And where do you live?” he heard himself ask next, even though he had not consciously decided on any course of action yet.

“As if I'm going to tell you that!” Tezan scoffed, blithely ignoring the big black panther still resting on his chest. At least he could now breathe with relative ease. “Why do you wish to know anyway?”

“What do you think man! It's his brother!” Robillard exclaimed, making Drizzt cringe slightly. To him the words sounded terribly incongruous when spoken aloud, because he knew the human's intended meaning. The wizard wouldn't understand this, but for Drow the family unit had a very different meaning that it did for humans. Family were the people you had to be most wary around, who by necessity knew you best and had therefore access to more opportunities and ways to hurt you. Tezan promptly demonstrated this mentality by looking back at Robillard without the slightest shred of understanding.

“That doesn't have to mean he absolutely _has_ to go after him”, the priest said, obviously coming to the wrong conclusion a few seconds later. “Until two minutes ago he didn't even know he still existed.”

“I don't want to kill Dinin!” the ranger cut in exasperatedly, hoping at the same time that he wouldn't have to regret his words in the near future.

“He seems very convinced that you do”, Tezan reminded him with a dubious look. “On the other hand”, the cleric continued musingly, “you haven't killed me yet. So maybe he was exaggerating a bit.”

For someone still pinned under a few hundred pounds of black fur and muscle he appeared supremely unconcerned.

“The circumstances of our last meeting weren't exactly peaceful, so I can not blame him for his fear. But I don't think...”

“What's happening?” a clear voice chimed in curiously, interrupting Drizzt.

Tezan grimaced with distaste as he saw red hair bouncing somewhere around Guenhwyvar's black furred shoulder. Oh great, that terrible human woman he so detested had obviously decided to involve herself in things that did not concern her at all. He did have enough sense of self preservation left though, to refrain from saying anything deprecatory about her just then.

“A Drow?” she commented with a sudden frown, as soon as she had gotten a good glimpse of the prostrate cleric.

“By the Gods no!” Tezan exclaimed theatrically, his cheeky nature getting the best of him. “A Drow? Where is the scoundrel?! Help!”

His audience was not quite as amused as he himself though. While Robillard, much to his credit, actually smiled a little, Drizzt only frowned and the stupid woman stared at him in confusion.

“Who is he?” she stubbornly insisted, beginning to look concerned now. Her experiences with Jarlaxle had made her wary of Drow with such a seemingly humorous nature.

“His name is Tezan”, Drizzt told her, frown still firmly in place, “and he is going to show us where he is currently living with my brother Dinin.”

“I am?” Tezan murmured mostly to himself. Well, that had definitely not been his plan this morning, but he also had no intention to let himself be tortured for Dinin's sake. Watching the sudden reunion of the two Do'Urden brothers might even be exciting enough to make up for the warrior's fit of fury, which was sure to follow.


	13. How things change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beginning of the new ending.

The three watched Tezan with wary expressions as he was finally freed from the restricting weight of Guenhwyvar's bulk, but he merely stood and brushed himself off, even though it did not make a difference with the state his clothes were in. The kid he had gotten them from must have had some really bad habits when it came to hygiene, he thought distractedly.

“Well,” he said, “do you need more time to prepare or do you wish to depart right now?”

Tezan had been speaking to Drizzt, but he wasn't terribly surprised to see the two humans nod along with the lavender eyed drow. It looked as if he would have no choice but to take them too. At least they did not seem to want the cat along as well, because Drizzt sent her away with a strange look of regret on his face. Tezan only watched with interest as the compact, black furred body of Guenhwyvar dissolved into insubstantial mist and re-considered for a moment his chances of escape, but ultimately decided against fleeing. Now that Drizzt knew Dinin was here, he would be able to find him whether Tezan showed him the way or not. Any third rate spellcaster could help him with that and the priest rather preferred to be able to control at least the moment of Drizzt's appearance in some way. He sighed.

“Fine. Just let me put on a small glamour then”, the cleric said mostly to Robillard. “I don't want to upset my neighbours.”

After a careful nod from the wizard Tezan spoke a few well chosen words and turned his skin back to the bright, milky hue he was by now almost used to. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see Drizzt grimacing slightly.

“What?” he snapped at the other drow, his voice sharp with sudden irritation. “Not all of us are protected by stories of valour and a reputation like yours. Would you rather that I cause a riot by merely walking down the street?”

“No”, came the flat response, accompanied by something that looked a lot like resignation. After all these years of having to fight against ever present prejudice, well earned or not, Drizzt could hardly claim that people up here were an accepting lot when it came to having a drow living in their quarters. However much he resented this kind of charade, he couldn't rightly claim that it was unnecessary. He had once resorted to it himself after all.

“Very well, let's go then”, Tezan said with a sudden, malicious grin, which looked very wrong on his now light skinned face and started walking briskly towards Waterdeep's less savoury parts. It seemed to Drizzt that he was now actually looking forward to witnessing this little family reunion, which about told him what to expect from Dinin. With a deep sigh he hurried after the cleric, wondering again, if this was such a good idea after all. He kept wondering as he followed Tezan ever deeper into the poorer quarters of Waterdeep and almost found himself regretting his impulsive decision.

The strange cleric stayed oddly silent during the whole trip, something Drizzt had not expected when witnessing the flashes of flamboyant behaviour the other had displayed before. It made him wonder uneasily if this could be a trap after all. He tried to reassure himself with the thought, that no Drow would think to use a family member as a reliable means to lure another into danger, but he couldn't quite keep the apprehensive frown from forming on his face. If Tezan had really been powerful enough to turn his brother back to his normal form after the transformation into a drider, then he should not be discounted as easily as his thoughtless attitude suggested at first sight.

Tezan on the other hand was growing steadily more excited with the way his day had turned out. Now that he had resigned himself to the discovery of Dinin's identity, he really wanted to see what would happen when the two volatile brothers came into contact for the first time in many years. From the covert little glances the cleric managed to snatch of the three people trailing behind him, he could tell that they were beginning to have doubts about this. He was especially delighted with the small frown creasing Drizzt's forehead, but he turned his broad grin inside so he would not alarm the already reluctant drow any further. If he was lucky maybe he would get to see the famed Drizzt Do'Urden fight.

When they finally stopped in front of a misshapen, crumbly house that had seen its better days quite some time ago Drizzt could only frown. His brother was supposed to be living in this small, dingy building? The Dinin he remembered would have objected very strongly to that. Tezan seemed to read his expression quite well, because he grinned an almost vicious grin, which unsettled the warrior, because he could not quite make out the source of amusement.

“Dinin doesn't like it much either”, Tezan told him knowingly, which Drizzt found quite disturbing, “but since he has so far only barely managed to provide his part of our upkeep he will have to put up with it for a while longer.”

That gave Drizzt more information than he had wanted about the way Tezan had managed to get Dinin into his bed, but at least it was also useful in other ways. If Dinin was so hard pressed to come up with a way to survive here, maybe he could be convinced to return to the Underdark, far away from Drizzt and his conscience. All he had to do was to offer his assistance and hope that his brother was not too suspicious and paranoid to agree. He still clung to that slight hope as he asked Cattie-brie and Robillard to stay behind in the street, something which the woman clearly did not wish to do. She relented only after a short but tense discussion. Drizzt was glad that she did though. He wanted to keep her as far away from his past as possible. It would be better if Dinin never knew her face.

After all this building expectation Tezan was to be sorely disappointed, because when he carefully opened the door to peer inside their small room after he had led Drizzt up the stairs, he could only discover that Dinin was not home.

A couple of feet above them on the roof of the building opposite his home the same Dinin gritted his teeth and tried to sort through the stormy feelings which were welling up in him at seeing his younger brother after so many years. There was of course a prominent fear fed by old memories, but also deep resentment because of all the things he'd had to suffer on account of Drizzt's foolishness and even though he would never admit it, a tiny bit of wonder too. Drizzt had survived so long under such difficult circumstances, that is was hard to not be at least a tiny little bit impressed, especially after he had to find out himself how differently from their dark hometown this alien world under the sun worked. A world which Drizzt had mastered without the help of someone like Tezan, who seemed to know the most important answers to basic issues up here, before Dinin had even thought up the appropriate questions.

Dinin gripped the heavy crossbow in his hand tighter as he watched Tezan and his brother slowly and cautiously enter the building which housed their tiny room, leaving two uneasy humans out on the street. He had spent most of his newly earned money on the weapon this morning, but he considered it a very good investment. It would allow him to kill accurately from a great distance, something he had felt he desperately needed to be able to do, because of course he had fully expected Tezan to go and get himself into trouble, no matter what the other said and promised to him. And Drizzt was simply too good to miss it when someone was tailing him.

The warrior was not stupid. He knew after all these weeks of living with Tezan, that the priest was as curious as a cat and he had been sure that that curiosity simply would not allow the other to stay away from such a tempting spectacle for any length of time, especially after he had already expressed an interest in it. Dinin had been sure that the cleric would try to spy on Drizzt only to be discovered sooner or later and he had planned accordingly, as soon as he had noted Tezan's absence in the morning. Obviously he had been right to do so. Nonetheless it was a shock for him to see Drizzt now.

His brother didn't really look that dangerous or even aggressive from up here he thought, but Dinin had absolutely no desire to test that impression more closely. Cold shivers of apprehension and fear ran down his back at the mere thought of going any closer. No, better to get rid of the bane of his existence as quickly and cleanly as possible. Once they came back out, Drizzt would present his vulnerable front to him and he would have the one chance to end this threat once and for all. One clean shot and then: No more looking over his shoulder, no more fear. The last remaining part of his past as the noble son of house Do'Urden would finally be erased and maybe then he would be able to start something new, even if it had to be up here under that cursed, blinding ball of bright fire. At least the sun was also warming the clay coloured, mossy shingles he was currently resting on.

Dinin watched the street along the reassuringly solid body of his crossbow and considered dispatching the humans now, while Drizzt was still inside, but decided against it. He had practised earlier, but he was not wholly sure of his skill with this new, unfamiliar weapon and he did not want to lose the element of surprise until he could be sure that he had achieved his main aim. He was aware that he would be putting Tezan in a precarious situation by attacking while the cleric was still so close to the enemy, but the idiot did not deserve any better after what he had done. It could not be long now and they would come back out. His finger curled a little tighter around the trigger.

When the moment finally came Dinin felt a detached, cold calm spread inside his belly. He watched with a strange feeling almost like giddiness as he let the bolt fly. With a small click it sped away from him and he could only stare as it embedded itself deep into the shoulder of his brother, who, with the true instinct of a battle seasoned warrior, twisted sideways in the last moment. It was enough to throw of Dinin's aim and keep him from receiving a mortal wound. Nonetheless Drizzt gasped with wide eyed surprise and clutched with scrabbling fingers at the deadly piece of iron tipped wood which which had so suddenly struck out of nowhere. He was also quick to step back behind Tezan, using the priest's body as a shield. The warrior felt almost tempted to shoot Tezan next, since he had so carelessly endangered them both with his damnable curiosity.

Dinin had already been lucky that Drizzt was not wearing any armour heavier than hardened leather with a few metal enhancements, but since his brother had expected to be out on the open sea soon, he had not put on anything with a more substantial weight, which would have guarded his body better, but would also have dragged him down if he had ever fallen over board. Dinin could only imagine the strangled hiss which probably escaped Drizzt's mouth as he slowly gripped the wooden shaft still stuck deeply in his shoulder, the read headed woman was rushing to his side as if she was herself a bolt shot from another crossbow aimed at Drizzt.

Well, while that was astonishingly easy, a small part of Dinin remarked with something that was part elation part disbelief and part dread, it had also been supremely useless. He would have to flee now. If only his aim had been a little better or Drizzt a bit less alert! One of the humans was already waving his arms, making a strange weaving motion in his direction. A wizard then, he decided and quickly moved backwards before he could become a target for some nasty spell. He would have to get off this roof and get away quickly before they could attack him directly. Or maybe Tezan would actually do something useful for a change and kill the bothersome human himself. If Drizzt did not kill him first that was.

The cleric was indeed most convinced that he would be attacked next. As soon as he had heard the whistling of the small bolt and seen Drizzt twist with the sudden impact, Tezan had jumped sideways towards the entrance of their rickety house, but he had been unable to evade Drizzt completely, who had still been behind him when the shot was fired and the warrior had grabbed him and immediately put a sharp knife to his neck. With Dinin's absence it wasn't difficult for Tezan to guess who the shooter was and he silently congratulated the warrior on seizing the opportunity, which had presented itself so unexpectedly. Or maybe not so unexpectedly for Dinin, he mused as he waited for death.

The warrior must have known that he would not keep the promise he had made, which was a little disconcerting. Tezan was not accustomed to be caught at any lie so easily, but normally he did not get so close to others either. He and Dinin had spent a lot of time together and it had been inevitable that they would get to know each other quite well. For a moment the cleric wished fruitlessly that he hadn't wasted the short moment of surprise, when he might have been able to get away, but he did not get much time to ponder his mistake, because just a moment afterwards Tezan was roughly pushed against the dirty wall of the building by a clearly furious Drizzt. He could only watch out of the corner of his eye as the wizard sent out a bolt of lightning towards the rooftop where Dinin would have been only moments before.

The warrior had probably gotten away though Tezan thought. Not like himself, who was still facing the enraged younger Do'Urden. Much as he wished the situation were different! The potent anger in these violet eyes gave him shivers. Feeling the tip of the knife pricking the soft skin of his neck the priest held himself very still, as he said: “I did not know about that! Don't kill me! Please!”

“Why shouldn't I”, the other asked between gritted teeth. “It is not like you would have shown me mercy if our roles were reversed.”

“I did not expect him to be aware of what I was doing”, Tezan repeated desperate to keep Drizzt from simply cutting his throat there and then. “I told him I would not seek you out.”

“Put your hands up next to your head were I can see them”, was all Drizzt hissed at him in answer, risking a quick sideways glance to see how his companions were faring. It set his mind at ease to see that they seemed to have everything under control, but his anger was not really alleviated.

Tezan complied instantly. It was the first time Drizzt could observe real fear in his eyes since they had met.

“You are a better person than me, judging by what I've heard about you. I'm willing to beg! Please! I will do whatever you say”, the priest promised desperately. “I have not done anything that deserves death.”

“We will determine that in a moment”, Drizzt spat back grimly, strained with pain. “Until then I suggest you remain silent. I'm not interested in any of your promises and lies.”

With a silent swallow of trepidation Tezan forced himself to stand still and wait. Now he almost wished that Drizzt would not turn out to be quite as upright as the stories claimed, because then he would be more susceptible to bribes. It did not really seem that way though. He tensed when the wizard stepped up beside him.

“I don't think I hit him”, the human said frowning. “We should get back to the ship as soon as possible, so I can heal you properly.”

The younger Do'Urden merely nodded tersely to that.

“We're taking him”, he said then, emphasizing his point by tipping Tezan's chin upwards a little more with slight pressure from his knife. “I believe I have some more questions for this one.”

 


	14. Tying the knot

“I don't know where he would have gone”, Tezan repeated tiredly for what he felt must be about the hundredth time. His tone no less frustrated than Drizzt's.

The companions had been deceptively gentle with him this far, but the continued questioning was wearing him down nonetheless. He had had no less than three different kinds of truth spells cast on his person and still they felt the need to keep going down the same path again and again until Tezan felt the strong wish to scream at them. Maybe he should just ask them to just torture him already. At least that would be less tedious. It did not help that he had been bound securely, fingers immobilized as was customary for any wizard or other spellcasters.

“Listen”, he hissed, finally at the end of his patience, “Dinin is an independent individual, not my slave. He can do whatever he likes, so I don't pay attention to him every second of the day! All I know that he recently found a way to earn money for himself. I have no idea what he did. There was no reason to pry into his affairs.”

“Are you going to try and find him if we set you free?”

Tezan's head shot up at this question. It was a new one and he had not anticipated it. In fact he had not even thought about that yet, since he had not assumed that this was something that would actually happen.

“Probably not right away”, he answered with an uncomfortable grimace. The priest was well aware that Dinin would resent him for bringing bis brother to their home. Maybe he would not even come back now that he had found a way to earn his own money. “I don't think he would appreciate my company at present.”

“Especially not if you really raped him”, the human wizard muttered, remembering Tezan's comments from earlier in the day. Robillard was quite surprised when the drow frowned at that.

“I did not!” Tezan insisted, suddenly sounding almost offended. “He is not above me and I provided for him!”

“What does he mean?” the wizard questioned Drizzt in astonishment. “He claimed it himself earlier and yet I detect no lie!”

The warrior suddenly looked decidedly sour. Not a usual expression on the normally stoic face.

“By the... laws of our people it wasn't rape”, he muttered darkly, his difference in opinion quite obvious. “They are both male and Dinin owed him, so it was within his rights to make demands. My brother would have complied even though he might have hated it.”

The wizard looked taken aback by this unaccustomed approach to morals. Even though he seemed tempted at first to ask further questions he stopped himself when he saw the exceptionally dark look on Drizzt's face. He turned back to the other drow instead.

“I do hope you realize, that our laws differ greatly when it comes to that”, he told Tezan sternly, but the priest looked unimpressed.

“Dinin is drow though and it is not like I touched anybody else”, he said, already sounding bored again. Something in his voice made Drizzt look up though.

“But you thought about it”, he claimed coldly.

“Well, who doesn't think about sex every now and then?” Tezan snapped back, clearly annoyed. He hated the fact that the truth spells limited his range of answers so severely. Especially when he saw Drizzt's eyes narrow at the words.

“You planned to go after someone”, the warrior said, his voice bordering on arctic now.

“Why would I do that when...”

“Yes or no”, Drizzt cut across the plainly evasive answer.

Tezan glared powerlessly, already knowing that not answering would be the same as a confession.

“Yes”, he hissed, crossing his arms defensively. “Although I have no idea who appointed you to be my judge!”

“Who?”

“I wasn't even going to force him outright”, Tezan said sullenly, already sensing that he had landed himself in serious trouble with this.

“Who? I'm not going to repeat myself again.”

Robillard, who had never heard Drizzt use this kind of tone before could only stare with wide eyes. He had not thought that the drow he had known for quite some time now could actually look and sound so vicious and found it a deeply unsettling experience. It was very effective though, in convincing Tezan to speak, although the priest appeared to be not half as impressed by the display of hostility as the wizard himself.

“His name is Jiqael. He works in one of the hospitals here in Waterdeep.”

“You are of course aware that I cannot let you go with this knowledge”, Drizzt commented softly, looking as if he would break out into violence any moment. Instead of being suitably cowed though this only seemed to make Tezan uncover new reserves of spiteful defiance.

“So you are planning to kill me for something so nebulous? Something I have not even done?!” the priest asked caustically. “Despite the fact that it might not even have come to that. I suppose you are aware of this small but poignant thing called free will. The boy could have just as well welcomed my advances, you realize? I can actually be charming if I want to.”

“Of course I am not going to kill you for something you did not do”, Drizzt stated with a deep frown. “But I cannot just let you go either, knowing that I've done nothing to prevent this.” He turned to Robillard. “Unfortunately we do not have very much time to deal with this. Is there some way to bind him while we are gone?” he asked the wizard, who hummed thoughtfully.

“That might be a bit tricky”, he confessed. “I do not know that many to start with, but most binding spells I'm aware of will cause serious problems when it comes to great distances or longer periods of absence and since we're going to be on the open sea very soon, there is not much left we can actually use without taking him along.”

“What about something more limited than a full binding?” the warrior wanted to know, causing Robillard to frown thoughtfully and reach into a cabinet behind himself to pull out an ancient looking book with a worn, red cover.

The wizard took a few moments to flip through the first pages until he had apparently found what he had been looking for.

“This is not quite the situation the spell was intended for, but it is the only one I can think of which will work reliably over the distance and the amount of water we will have to consider with a prolonged sea journey.” Robillard smiled with an air of fondness as he looked down on the worn and faded pages. “I actually bought the book as a curiosity and never expected to use any of these spells.”

Tezan looked ready to bolt, but he knew better than to try that. He had not forgotten about the big, black panther which had sat on his chest so heavily. Nonetheless he was watching the wizard with deep and growing distrust.

“It was originally meant to work as a fidelity spell, but I think we can apply it here. It would mean a bit of a commitment on your side though”, he said mainly to Drizzt. “Because neither of you would be able to sleep with anyone else as long as the spell is in effect.”

“Excellent. We'll do it”, said Drizzt in the same moment as Tezan exclaimed a horrified: “What?!”

“And what if he dies on the sea?” the priest wanted to know. “Am I to remain celibate for the rest of my life only because he got it into his head to play fate?”

“I'm reasonably sure that the spell ends with death”, Robillard assured the almost frantic drow, which did not really do much to calm the other.

“That is just as good as saying you have no idea!” Tezan complained angrily.

“Would you rather spend the next weeks in the ship's brig, together with the pirates we are going to catch?” Drizzt asked him pointedly. “Because that is the alternative and I'm already being extremely trusting doing this.”

The priest only hissed wordlessly, throwing up his hands in defeat. At least that meant he would get out of here alive, even though he would have been happier to never lay eyes again on the self righteous bastard who had suddenly decided to bestow an early judgement day onto him.

“Very well”, Robillard began, “If you would wait here, I will go get the apple.” He stopped when he saw the questioning glances from both drow. “It was often used as a symbol of fertility in the old times and since this the spell was originally meant for husband and wife it is not so surprising that it is used now.”

“May I at least read the spell before you cast it?” Tezan asked dubiously, but just as Robillard was shrugging Drizzt intervened.

“If you think I will let him put any kind of spell book into your hands right now, then I advise you to think again!”

At that the wizard merely shrugged once more, trusting Drizzt's judgement, and went to get what he would need to perform the spell.

“How long are you planning to tie me down like this?” the priest wanted to know, immediately switching to Drow, now that the human was no longer present.

“As long as necessary”, Dizzt said shortly, still keeping to common, because his own language had long ago started to feel strange on his tongue. Tezan was obviously unhappy with this answer though, because he frowned.

“If that means as long as you feel I might hurt someone, then you could just as well say forever. You know that as well as I do, because there will always be a sliver of suspicion left in your mind, no matter what I might say.”

When Drizzt only watched him with an implacable stare Tezan gave a frustrated sigh.

“I happen to like sex”, he said. “If you are planning to keep me tied to you for a longer period of time, you might want to consider my needs.”

“You do not need sex to live”, Dizzt scoffed, but the way he was suddenly leaning backwards a bit more at the mere hint of a desire for contact told Tezan, that he would have a lot of hard work ahead if he wanted to convince the warrior to show at least that much compassion. Had he not been watching Drizzt, he would have hardly noticed the tiny movement, but he was and he did. It made him wonder what happened in the Do'Urden household that had left both brothers so averse to sexual contact. Maybe he could find out from Dinin, if the warrior ever spoke to him again. Probably not though. He would not be surprised if Dinin never came back after today. The warrior would probably manage on his own, now that he had found a way to earn money for himself.

“No, you do not, but the general quality of life certainly suffers if you take it away from someone who enjoys it”, the priest argued persistently.

“Maybe you should consider not building your quality of life on the misery of others then.”

“Who says that they're all miserable!?” Tezan snapped in aggravation. “You realize that you do not know me at all, do you? Or is it just that someone fucked you up so badly that you cannot even bear to think in that direction anymore?”

He realized he would not get anywhere by trying to argue further when he saw Drizzt's gaze turn stony at that. Well, he would just have to find a way out of this enchantment once he was free again. It would probably take him some time, but Tezan was confident enough in his abilities as a spellcaster and the favour of his chosen deity to think it possible. For the time being he would simply have to put up with it all.

And he did. He ate the half of the apple Robillard handed him without so much as a twitch and said the required words, which would bind him to be faithful to Drizzt until the other would find it in himself to release him from this spell. Tezan listened very closely to the incantation, but he wasn't able to glean anything useful, which would enable him to break the enchantment quickly. Thoroughly depressed he left the ship, almost surprised that Drizzt actually let him go. But the warrior probably knew that Tezan would not be able to evade him now that they were so closely tied together by the spell.

The priest considered going back home, but the thought of sitting alone in the small dingy room only served to blacken his abysmal mood even further. He could not even bring himself to care about the fact that he was still wearing the smelly, grimy clothes of the street kid. It was not like anybody would be able to touch him anyway. Maybe he should just stay this way, he thought morosely, as he spotted the next available tavern and decided to try and distract himself with alcohol.

He was just about to start on his fourth bottle of potent wine when Dinin stepped through the door. At least Tezan thought it was him, since he appeared to be human, but looked enough like the drow warrior to make Tezan suspect a very good disguise. That mask Dinin had taken from the little fairy was very handy indeed. He reached for his weapon in a rather half hearted fashion. Part of him simply did not care right now and Dinin did not seem too aggressive, even after he had spotted his errant companion. Instead the warrior sauntered over to his table as if he did not have a care in the world.

“You're still alive”, Dinin stated more neutrally than Tezan had expected and sat down.

“You are a lot calmer than I thought you would be”, the priest countered and reached for the wine bottle, satisfied that no imminent attack was to be expected.

“And you are drunk.”

Tezan merely shrugged.

“Apparently”, he agreed and took a healthy swallow straight from the bottle.

“What did they do to you?” Dinin wanted to know curiously. “I've never seen you so upset before and yet you appear unharmed.”

Tezan glared at him.

“I hate your brother!” he declared with feeling, causing the warrior to lift one white eyebrow.

“What did he do?” Dinin asked again.

“Don't ask!” the cleric said and drank some more.

The warrior merely shrugged in response. He had already decided that, since Drizzt had left the city on the ship, the situation was under control for now. And Dinin was reasonably sure that he had left, because he had heard exactly that from at least four different people. He was a bit surprised at himself, at how calm he felt after his botched assassination attempt. But somehow that was exactly what had taken away a big part of his deep rooted fear of the brother who had spared his life once in the dark tunnels of the underdark. It had shown him again, that Drizzt was, despite all his skill, only made of flesh and bones like everybody else. Even though he had not managed to kill him, his brother had been wounded. It would not be easy, but he could be overcome just like anybody else. It would just take a lot of cautious and careful planning. And now that Drizzt had left the city for the foreseeable future, apparently uninterested in chasing after Dinin, the warrior was confident enough that he would have ample time to come up with a plan, in case Drizzt's indifference was only a temporary thing.

“But I want to know”, Dinin said and snatched the wine bottle away from Tezan, who glared at him.

“Never mind that I am actively trying to forget just that right this moment!”

“Don't be such a child”, the warrior sneered without mercy.

Tezan only buried his face in his hands, so Dinin slapped him on the back of his head without eliciting much of a reaction.

“It must be something really annoying, if you're throwing such a fit”, he mused. “Do you actually want me to make you talk or will you do it voluntarily.”

“Fine!” Tezan growled into his hands, before he looked up, aware that Dinin might actually not need much motivation right now to resort to any kind of torture. “But you are buying the next bottle!”

Dinin simply nodded his assent.

“He had the wizard cast a fucking fidelity spell on me.”

“Fidelity?” the warrior questioned in confusion.

“I cannot have sex with anybody else. Only with your fucking brother, who is possibly even more frigid and afraid of being touched than you are”, Tezan growled, his frustration obvious.

“I'm not afraid!” Dinin hissed, instantly annoyed, before he caught himself and considered the whole situation. “Well”, he said slowly, a widening grin spreading over his face, “he was certainly quick in finding your weak spot though, wasn't he?”

“Fuck you!” Tezan spat angrily, but that only prompted Dinin's grin to grow even wider.

“Not any more!” he laughed nastily. “I'm impressed. My brother used to be a bit soft sometimes, but apparently he has grown a little more vindictive and inventive during the years he spent up here”, Dinin purred appreciatively.

“I'm going to fucking gut him!” the priest hissed with narrowed eyes. “Light take you! Stop laughing you bastard. Your whole family can go rot in the Abyss!”

Dinin only laughed harder. There was a certain poetic justice in this. As far as he was concerned Tezan deserved his current fate.

“So”, he began innocently, “are you going to crawl to him begging to be fucked when he comes back, like a good little boy?”

With an enraged snarl Tezan lunged over the table, but Dinin was able to intercept and stop him easily in his current, inebriated state.

“You should stop drinking if you are going to attack me”, he said with vicious amusement, pressing the other down on the table by his throat, one arm twisted on the back in a rather painful fashion.

“Fuck you”, Tezan only mumbled again, still angry, but essentially defeated. He sighed and relaxed against the rough, sticky wood signalling his surrender, so that Dinin would release his uncomfortable grip.

 


	15. A starting point

His mood would not improve much during the next weeks. Rather the opposite. Especially when he discovered that he was prevented from touching even himself in any but the most innocent fashion. Every time he tried to go past that intangible border a stinging pain would shoot through his whole body and resonate in his head until he could barely think straight. It was maddening! It drove him to spend long hours walking along the docks, waiting aimlessly, even though he had no idea what he might do when Drizzt came back. He only knew that he did not want to go on like this.

It was ridiculous in a way, that he let himself be governed so wholly by his physical needs, Tezan knew that painfully well, but somehow being aware that he would not have an outlet other than going to Drizzt made him think about it constantly. It was driving him crazy, but he could not put it out of his mind. In the end he decided that it was mostly because he hated being told what to do and this was no better than ordering him around.

After trying without success, to find a way out of the spell by magical means for some weeks and being constantly thwarted by the deceptively simple but rather strong, ancient magic, the priest finally gave up and turned to his deity for help. It did not surprise him very much when all he received for his pleas was some ghostly laughter that left his ears ringing and his head hurting for a few days. By being discovered he had failed in what his God valued the most and apparently the masked Lord was of the opinion that he deserved all that had been done to him in return. It was very vexing and what irritated Tezan the most, was that it was true. He had no one to blame but himself and his damnable curiosity.

He had all but resigned himself to going to Drizzt in order to outright beg him to lift the spell, when he thought of the way that the warrior had watched that human woman. Maybe all it would take would be to make Drizzt want for somebody else enough to release the enchantment. Tezan was convinced that selfish reasons were what motivated most people to do anything they did, so he hoped that, if he could convince the warrior that he wanted to bed the disgusting human more than he wanted to keep track of Tezan, that he would lift the spell. His theory had only one flaw. Since he knew from the stories he had gathered, that Drizzt had already been around this particular woman for years, apparently without giving in to his desires, the priest assumed logically that it would take some involvement from himself to push things in the right direction. Still, that would probably be easier to achieve than bedding Drizzt himself, which was the only other alternative at the moment.

Now that he finally had something to think about and plan, Tezan perked up a little bit. Of course he had considered simply trying to force Drizzt, but Dinin's panicked attitude when it came to his brother, as well as the stories of the ranger's exploits had strongly cautioned him against it. The priest held no illusions that he would be able to best Drizzt and his companions in any kind of open battle, so he had discarded the thought almost from the beginning. Since he could not be entirely sure that the spell would lift if he killed Drizzt, he had also abandoned the idea of assassination for the time being. He would have to be sneaky about this. Well, sneaky in an obvious way. Somehow. Since he could not influence things to his advantage without getting close to Drizzt and the woman, he would have to think of a suitable cover story.

Lost in thought Tezan did not notice the positively wicked grin which was spreading over his face for the first time in weeks. Dinin, who had surprisingly decided to remain with him after all, did notice though. The warrior was unprepared for the feeling of relief which spread through him, at seeing a part of the cleric's former spirit shine through again after these long weeks of sulking. He had not realized just how much Tezan's bad mood had been affecting him too. In a way it was quite disturbing, but Dinin resolved to ignore that and decided instead to find out what had Tezan grinning so viciously.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked suddenly, trying to startle the other into revealing the truth, but Tezan was better prepared than that.

“I'll let you take a guess”, he only replied with a smirk, causing Dinin to grimace.

“You found a way around the spell?” the warrior asked, since that was the most logical conclusion.

“I might”, Tezan said, but the grin still on his face, suggested that he was quite sure his plan would work. Still, Dinin was not one to pass up an opportunity.

“Might is not good enough dear Tezan”, he sweetly repeated a phrase Tezan had thrown at him in a situation both of them were sure to remember. Dinin had hated what had happened after and Tezan would be sure to pick up on his insinuation. Indeed the priest frowned at him.

“Don't say that before you've even heard what my plan is”, Tezan complained irritated with his attitude.

“Are you going to tell me then?” Dinin only asked calmly. Since he had found a way to get rid of a good part of his pent up aggressions through the well paid assassinations and other missions he was still running for the small human he had encountered that one night in the dark alley, he had grown remarkably more tolerant in the face of Tezan's behaviour. The two narrow but separate beds they had crammed in their room and the certainty of being safe from any advances of the priest due to the spell, had also greatly contributed to his change in attitude.

“Fine”, Tezan relented. “It is rather simple actually. I will only have to make Drizzt desire someone else enough to get him to lift the spell”, he said triumphantly, sounding extremely pleased with his reasoning. And had he not known Drizzt as he did, Dinin would have gladly agreed with him. As it was his doubtful look caused Tezan to frown again.

“What?” the cleric snapped. Dinin shrugged.

“It might not work”, he said. “My brother has very good self control when he wants to.”

It was a pity he had decided to use this useful trait so selectively, Dinin mused bitterly. They could have achieved so much had Drizzt not chosen to do as he had. But there was nothing to be gained from brooding about the past he decided and tried to shrug off the regretful thoughts.

Tezan hissed dismissively.

“Then I will simply have to help him along, won't I”, he said, apparently unconcerned.

Dinin could only shrug again.

“As long as you keep him occupied, so he does not decide to go looking for me”, the warrior said. He had come to the conclusion that, since Drizzt had not gone after him immediately, he probably had not enough interest in a determined chase, which did not mean that Dinin would grow complacent and dismiss the deep wariness he still harboured towards his brother. It did mean though, that he felt there was no longer a need for panicked flight, since Drizzt had never shown much interest in long drawn out games of chase as long as he had known him. If he had not deemed this important enough to even stay in the city then Dinin thought himself safe for the moment.

“I doubt that he will do so anyway”, Tezan said, confirming Dinin's conclusion. “He did not seem very concerned about anybody I might have been wanting to murder after all, considering that he let me go so easily without taking any measures to prevent that.” Suddenly the priest started to frown thoughtfully. “Or do you think he might just get off on controlling me like this?”

Tezan's sudden bout of supremely misplaced inspiration made Dinin laugh so hard that he almost choked.

“No, I really don't think so”, he finally managed to gasp.

The priest gave him an extremely annoyed look.

“Fine”, he snapped. “I get it. You can shut up now.”

To his credit Dinin tried, but he could not contain his grin fully.

“What makes him behave so adversely to even a hint of sex though?” Tezan enquired.

Contrary to his expectations Dinin merely shrugged, not looking overly concerned by the topic itself, which was a sure indication of how amused he still was.

“I think it has to do with one of the Masters in the Academy”, the warrior said, giving more information than Tezan had hoped for, but still staying frustratingly vague.

“Because _all_ the Masters there are so gentle and caring towards their students!” The priest quipped, trying to gain a little more insight. “I certainly never noticed any marked differences between them, when it came to that”, he added drily, thinking back to his own time in Sorcere and the various games and humiliations he had had to endure there amongst other things.

“That is because you are such a slut and Drizzt is so stubborn”, Dinin said as if revealing a fundamental truth. So Drizzt had apparently tried to fight his instructors, the priest deduced. A rather stupid move in his opinion, because it usually did not change the eventual outcome. It only made it worse in fact.

“Fighting would have been futile at that point”, Tezan said with conviction, voicing a truth which all students eventually came to learn by heart. “You have to remember too, that I am not even a noble. They probably would have gutted me on the spot had I tried to put up any kind of serious resistance.”

“Yes”, Dinin agreed for once, for he also knew the harsh laws which governed the Academy, even though he himself had not taken advantage of them to bed his own students and subordinates. “That difference in status was probably the only thing that saved my brother in the end, because the Master concerned was not a noble either. That and the fact that Drizzt was just such a brilliant student when it came to actual combat. Of course it helped that I was also a Master at the time and commanded his patrol later on”, the warrior added, red eyes glinting with bitter irony.

“So basically he was lucky and spoiled and never had to learn to resign himself to things that can not be changed.”

“You might say that”, Dinin admitted. “The Matron did not want to take the risk of his death after he had already proven to be so good with his blades, so I was told to intervene on his behalf. She was also well aware of how stubborn he could be even then.”

Had Tezan still believed that something like fairness or justice existed he would have been most annoyed now, but as it was he felt more envious. He put it out of his mind though, in favour of concentrating on the present.

“Well, that gives me a starting point at least”, he said, ignoring Dinin's still rather doubtful looks.

 


	16. Tyranny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drizzt and Tezan meet again.

Once he had worked out a way to discern Drizzt's current position despite the cloaking and rebuffing spells Robillard had placed around the Sea Sprite, Tezan kept checking his progress each day. When he had eventually determined that the ship was heading back towards Waterdeep he breathed a sigh of relief. Finally he would get to do something. Wether his plan was successful or not, at least he would have the opportunity to try very soon. Waiting had never been his strong point. Just one more reason why he hated spiders so much. The way they would just sit in their net and wait patiently for their prey to stumble along made him shudder every time he thought on it.

The cleric made sure to be at the docks when the large vessel arrived back at the harbour. This time his disguise was no more elaborate than a simple change to his skin and hair colour. More was not necessary in his opinion since all parties concerned had already seen everything there was to see. There was quite a crowd gathered by the time the ship had finally docked properly. It was large even for the already busy harbour. As he stood a little to the side to avoid being crushed by the tight press of people Tezan noted that most of the assembled seemed quite excited. They were also looking towards the Sea Sprite as if waiting for something.

He found out why when a wooden plank was installed between the ship and the dock. Apparently the pirates caught on this latest journey would be paraded in front of everyone. That explained the undercurrent of bloodlust Tezan could feel in the general atmosphere. It put a small grin on his lips as he waited for the show to begin.

He was not disappointed. It seemed that humans could be just as cruel as any drow if they put their mind to it, the only difference was the higher level of noise. The frequent suggestions for bloody and violent measures of justice, which were shouted across the whole dock as the first pirates appeared sounded quite interesting, Tezan thought. Not very refined, but effective nonetheless. He watched curiously as people started throwing rotten vegetables, dirt and small pebbles at the sorry looking bunch of ragged, manacled men that were pushed through the crowd by a few of the brawnier sailors until they could be handed over to the small contingent of the city watch, which had come to receive the culprits into their tender care.

As the crowd followed their source of entertainment Tezan stayed behind. That was not why he had come here, even though he found the spectacle quite amusing. Thoughtfully he let his gaze slide over the ship's graceful wooden body. Drizzt was probably still in there somewhere. Now how to approach him?

“I thought I might find you here”, someone said softly behind the priest, causing Tezan to whirl around in embarrassing surprise, hands flying towards his dagger and a small wand. As soon as he saw who it was that had managed to sneak up on him though, he let his hands fall to his sides.

Apparently there was no need to go searching for Dinin's brother after all.

“Well, yes”, Tezan said, recovering quickly. “That is hardly surprising, don't you think? You put on quite a show. I might have come, even if you had not inserted yourself into my life in such a tyrannical manner.”

“What I have done can hardly be considered tyranny”, Drizzt answered mildly, appearing mostly amused by the accusation. “I am bound by the same limits after all.”

“I would also be quite unperturbed if I was to be told that I could never touch another scimitar in my life”, Tezan snapped back, forgetting for the moment his plan to be accommodating and sneaky, now that the subject of his recent frustration was standing in front of him.

“That is not the same and you know it.”

“Is it?” the cleric sniffed angrily. “I happen to differ. Not everybody relates to sex the way you apparently do. Say for example I was a courtesan. Then you would have deprived me of the very tool with which I earn my living.”

“You are not a courtesan.”

A slight weariness was creeping into Drizzt's voice, as if he was already regretting his decision to come here.

“No, but there were certainly times in my life when I would have preferred to be one”, Tezan said bitterly, speaking mostly to himself. “At least then I would have been paid.”

“And yet you would prey upon others, even though you obviously know what comes in the wake of such deeds.”

Tezan regarded the warrior out of dark eyes, not red today, but mossy green again and suddenly he gave a deep, sigh.

“Give me the name of the one person out of all who have grown up in Menzoberranzan who does not know that feeling”, he said, suddenly sounding more tired than challenging. “And yet you are the first I have come across who objects so violently, even when you are not concerned directly.”

“Which is only one of the reasons why I'm glad that I have left that city for good!” Drizzt replied with a rather surprising amount of passion, that startled the priest, since he had grown used to the generally calm and controlled demeanour which Drizzt normally displayed.

Tezan started to say something in reply, but apparently thought better of it and merely gave a shrug. He found that, to his own surprise, he could not really argue with that sentiment.

“Very well”, he said after a time. “Would you care for a drink then?”

That seemed to surprise Drizzt and filled his face with instant suspicion.

“A drink?” he echoed as if he could hardly believe it.

“Of course”, Tezan smiled back, honestly amused this time. “If I am to pay such a steep price, I would at least like to hear some more about your experiences here. I'm still possessed of that stupid curiosity which led me to spy on you in the first place.”

“Of course you will also be searching for ways to escape the binding by finding out more about myself”, Drizzt answered drily, to which Tezan only gave a cheeky grin.

“That goes without saying”, he admitted cheerfully, unconcerned by his admission of something he considered to be most obvious. “My interest in your life however is also quite genuine, so I'm hoping that you'll be willing to indulge me.”

Later on Drizzt would never be quite able to decide what made him say the next words. Maybe it was a deep seated need to not be alone any more, to share something with someone who would really understand what growing up in Menzoberranzan was like and what lay behind him. He was aware of course that his friends would be a much better place to unburden himself, but he also knew that somebody who had not been there could never really understand what it had been like to come here with nothing but the clothes on his back and sheer determination to find a better life. He knew it was not really a good idea, but for once he found himself wanting it nonetheless, despite the risks involved. It would not do to have Tezan know that though, so he could not make it too easy.

“If you drop your disguise I will.”

The cleric, who had not really expected to receive such an offer without further nagging, looked a little surprised at this particular request, but he seemed to be considering the matter.

“You do realize that it might not be very conductive to a quiet talk if I do that, yes?”

Drizzt only nodded, but he could see that Tezan was seriously considering his condition, which was surprising in itself.

“If we are interrupted, will I get another opportunity afterwards?”

“Maybe. If I decide that you deserve one.”

“And what would make me deserving in your eyes?” Tezan asked lightly and fought hard against the urge to accompany the words with a suggestive leer. If Drizzt was even a little bit like Dinin he would not really appreciate such a gesture. It was hard to curb himself though with Drizzt being so relatively accommodating.

“If you cannot guess that by then, you probably won't be deserving”, the warrior only said cryptically.

Still intrigued Tezan only needed a few more moments to reach his decision.

“Very well”, he said, grinning with the same reckless excitement which he had usually found in the risky worship of his chosen deity and drew up the hood of his light cloak before he banished the simple glamour on his skin, eyes and hair with a short, cutting motion of his hand.

“Don't look so disapproving”, he told Drizzt when he saw the warrior frown. “I am still more sensitive to the light than you are and I have just dropped the spell protecting me from the sun along with my illusion. You should allow me at least this much.”

“I suppose you are right”, Drizzt allowed, bowing his head slightly in acknowledgement. He did remember how hard it had been during the first years to face the unrelenting brightness of day. “It does take some time before you get used to it.”

“Ah, so I suppose there is still hope for me then”, the priest smiled lightly, trying to suppress the sudden feeling of nakedness, but not succeeding completely. It showed when he tugged restlessly at the thin fabric of his cloak as if trying to cover himself more completely, but Drizzt decided not to mention it. Drow in general were a very secretive race and to expose himself like this had obviously cost Tezan more than he was willing to show. It also convinced the warrior that the other really had an honest wish to talk to him. He would still have to be very careful about the things he revealed though.

“Do you have a preference as to which establishment we should seek out?”

“Not particularly. You?”

Tezan shook his head. He had mostly just tried a few different bars for drinking, gambling and pickpocketing while still wearing his disguise, so he did not have any experience when it came to picking one which would be most conductive to the kind of meeting they had in mind right now.

“I could pick something”, Drizzt acquiesced. “I would suggest the Blak Swann. I usually have no problems there, even though the clientele appears a little rough sometimes.”

With an agreeable bow of his head Tezan turned to leave.

“Your wish is my command”, he said, knowing full well that is was not by chance that Drizzt had suggested the establishment.

“So you _were_ there”, the warrior said, walking beside him now.

“Just because I know in which direction to go?” Tezan teased, but he relented a only second later. “Yes, I was. That was the first time I came across you.”

He grinned, remembering.

“The way they all kept staring and expected us to somehow start a fight at any moment was most amusing. Did they seem disappointed after I just left like that?”

“A bit”, Drizzt said, not quite able to decide if he should join the amusement or be disappointed himself, because people still clung to their usual expectations so pigheadedly even after the many years he had spent in the city providing the ample proof that he simply did not behave like that.

“Don't look so conflicted”, the priest told him lightly. “That's what people do. Everywhere. They always hope for a show.”

His statement was answered with a low sigh.

“Yes, I am very well aware of this unfortunate tendency.”

“Do not hope for them to be better than they are and you will not be disappointed”, Tezan said with a shrug as they walked out on one of the more frequented streets. Heads turned towards them almost immediately.


	17. The things you never knew

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there, I did not quite manage to get this up as soon as I wanted to, but I hope you enjoy anyway. Have a nice christmas all of you!

That they had managed to reach their destination without a problem surprised Tezan, even though he also felt thankful for it. The sudden increase in public scrutiny, which came with revealing his true identity, did not sit well with him and there had been a few moments when he had seriously considered putting a stop to all this. Now, in the dim corner of the tavern he felt a little better, even though the few patrons in the room were also staring in their direction with unabashed interest. At least now he had his back to the wall and could see the entrance out of the corner of his eye.

“By the masked Lord!” he muttered, “How do you stand that every day?”

“I don't”, Drizzt reminded him wryly. “I spend a large part of my time on a ship far away from the coast, remember?”

“I can certainly see the appeal now”, Tezan grumbled.

“I did try masking myself once”, Drizzt admitted, surprising the cleric with this sudden burst of information. “It never really felt right though, so in the end I stopped.”

He was curious what Tezan would have to say to that, but what actually happened surprised him, because the other drow only looked at him strangely for a few seconds, before he seemed to reach some conclusion. Drizzt could only watch in confusion as the other drew out a piece of cloth from one of his pockets and proceeded to fix it over the lower half of his face. It was a veil.

“What does that mean?” he finally asked, when no more explanation was given.

The red eyes above the veil regarded him with a seriousness that Drizzt had not expected from someone like Tezan, who usually appeared to take nothing very serious.

“If I had done this in Menzoberranzan I would probably have found myself on a sacrificial altar very soon after. So, in a way, that was me unmasking myself for you. It was what you intended with your initial request, no?”

Drizzt only nodded, still bemused.

“The mask, what exactly does it signify.”

“You don't know?” Tezan was honestly surprised. “Most males learn of it sooner or later.”

The ranger shrugged.

“I left the city at a very young age, when I had only barely completed the academy and patrols. I had other things on my mind then.”

“The veil marks me as one of Vhaeraun's clerics. Without his grace I would never have been able to return your brother to his true form.”

“Vhaeraun...”, Drizzt spoke haltingly, trying to dredge up only half remembered rumours from his past. “I don't know very much about him”, he finally confessed, bringing back the usual grin to Tezan's lips.

“I can tell you everything you need to know, if you would like.”

“I don't think I will need to know every last detail”, Drizzt said suddenly looking hesitant. His previous experiences with drow gods were not very encouraging. He relaxed a bit though when Tezan only grinned again in response.

“You're not expected to convert immediately, you know. Especially since you already seem to have found someone else to be more worthy of your devotion. Unless of course my interpretation of your pendant is wrong...”

“No”, Drizzt shook his head. “You are quite right.” He felt strangely timid though, as if he was not quite ready to talk about the topic. Years of lolthian dogma were apparently still hard to overcome if faced with another drow. When speaking even a single word against the spider queen could be considered life threatening you learned quickly to keep your mouth shut and your thoughts to yourself.

They were interrupted by the serving wench, who stepped up to the table to take their orders. Her presence provided a small break that Drizzt found himself surprisingly grateful for. He wondered whether he had gotten himself in over his head this time. The cleric seemed to pick up on this quickly, because he regarded Drizzt closely for a few seconds after she had gone and said: “Don't be so concerned. This does not have to be one sided. If you are interested I will share stories of my life as well.”

“I wouldn't even know what to ask”, Drizzt confessed, shifting restlessly in his chair, before he caught himself and sat still again.

“Well”, Tezan shrugged, trying to find a way of calming the other. “We could start at the beginning. For example I was born in Ostmyr. My parents ran a small business for spell components, but my family fell on hard times when I was about eighteen. So, because I was pretty, had nimble fingers and opened my mouth too much to ask stupid questions I was given away to the house mage of a minor noble house in return for promises of support and protection.”

“Did he keep them?” Interested despite himself the warrior let the words slip out before he could think better of it. He could guess what such a deal would have entailed and he did not envy Tezan a youth spent in what must have essentially been slavery after his family had bargained him away. The good looks at least had stayed with him, Drizzt thought detachedly, even though the prettiness had by now evolved into the more sophisticated lines of adulthood.

Tezan shrugged, his slight grimace indicating that it had indeed not been a very happy time for him. The lower half of his face was still obscured by the veil though, so Drizzt was not quite sure what the indistinct curl of the clerics lips might mean.

“He probably did. Ghuanas was nothing if not predictable. He did not let me out much though, so I cannot be sure. It ceased to matter to me after a while.”

When the other said nothing more Drizzt became aware that it was probably his turn to share something. Was he willing to talk about his childhood? What was there to tell anyway?

“I spent the first years of my life cleaning the house chapel”, he finally said lamely.

“For me it was mostly shelves and the back of the shop”, Tezan replied. “I'm not quite sure which can be considered worse. Did you ever break anything important?”

“Thankfully not”, Drizzt said with a spontaneous shudder, as he imagined what Vierna would have done to him if he had ever managed to actually damage one of the precious statues dedicated to the worship of Lolth. “I was punished enough as it was.”

“Women”, Tezan sighed flicking his fingers as if he was trying to dislodge some unpleasant substance clinging to him.

“Is that why you turned to Vhaeraun, to spite the women?”

He could not help but ask. Ever since Tezan had revealed his faith Drizzt had been wondering what could possess someone to take up such a risky line of thinking while still deciding to stay in Menzoberranzan. It sounded positively suicidal to him and he was by no means a stranger to taking risks.

“Yes... no... partly.” Tezan looked annoyed at himself for a moment, before he continued: “I am trying to tell you the truth here, but really it was probably a whole convoluted mess of reasons. Well, the women were definitely part of it.” He shrugged. “I don't know if it is as bad for fighters, but it has always frustrated me to no end, that they should be considered more worthy in just about every way that matters, when as a wizard I could basically do just the same things they could, just differently. To be subjugated all your life for no other reason than having the wrong body is so stupid and wasteful it has made me want to scream at times. No, actually it still does every time I think on it.”

Drizzt could see that life long frustration written quite clearly on the cleric's face. In a way it gave him hope to see that he had not been the only one so dissatisfied with the way most of Menzoberranzan's citizens lived their daily life. He was also aware though, that Tezan's reason's for this pronounced feeling were quite different from his own.

“And yet, if you were granted the same power, would you not behave just the same way they do?” he asked pointedly. The question alone would reveal quite a lot of his personal views on the matter, but that could not be helped.

Tezan scoffed, red eyes narrowing.

“Are you saying that they would not deserve it?”

“No. That is not the point!”

“So you agree that they would.”

“If I say they would, then that would quite probably make you equally deserving. Or have you never done anything which deserves retribution?” Drizzt let out a frustrated breath, thinking that he was quite possibly wasting his time in having such an argument with someone like Tezan, who was now regarding him with an expression he could only call petulant. “Don't you see that at some point somebody needs to stop? Someone needs to change the way things are done or it will forever go on like this, all of us caught in this never ending spiral of destruction. Is that really what you want from life?”

“Have you ever really opened your eyes and looked around you?!” Tezan asked with clear exasperation. “That's what life is! Take or you will be taken. That's what is taught to us even before we can walk. And I have yet to see anything work very different up here.” The last was said with a deliberate crossing of his arms in front of his chest. “I was mugged almost as soon as I set foot in this city”, he added. “If I had not been able to defend myself, then my admittedly meagre possessions would have been gone altogether and I might have ended up dead or at least injured.”

“I never said that this place was perfect.”

It was an embarrassingly weak argument, which only had Tezan look back at him out of narrowed red eyes. Drizzt was not usually so tongue tied. Why was he finding it suddenly hard to articulate his feelings in front of another Drow? In a way he almost felt embarrassed. Something which had not happened to him in a very long time, at least not when it came to this kind of discussion. Maybe it had to do with the fact that Tezan was one of the very few Drow with whom he was actually having something which could be called a serious conversation for any length of time before things progressed into open conflict.

“Was that the reason why you left Menzoberranzan?” the priest wanted to know now. “Because you think we are wrong to face the realities of life as they are instead of cowering behind pretty lies until someone stabs us in the back with the truth?”

Drizzt could recognize the underlying bitterness and anger in Tezan's question as the feelings of somebody who had learned these life lessons the hard way. Having lived through his own share of casual cruelty and betrayals when he grew up, he could emphasize. He still remembered how hard it could be to fight your way through those feelings.

“If we behaved differently, then these realities would change”, he said calmly.

“If we behaved differently, we would be dead quite soon”, Tezan countered harshly. Somewhere in his head he was also despairing about what the views Drizzt was currently spouting might mean for his plan. That someone could be so convinced of such utter foolishness left him extremely annoyed. Mostly he was just angry though and he could not even quite tell what it was exactly that aggravated him so much. Normally he would just have Drizzt left to his beliefs. After being preached to his entire life he had come to hate anything that felt remotely like the ever present lolthian propaganda that was embedded into every aspect of life in Menzoberranzan. He basically thought that everybody should be entitled to their own opinions. Even if they were stupid. This conversation was beginning to make Tezan feel as if he was the priestess telling others what to think and how to live, something he had always abhorred and wanted to avoid at all costs. So, consciously clamping down on his own anger he drew a deep breath and said: “Well, it looks like we will just have to agree to disagree on this point.”

This sudden turn in approach came as a surprise to Drizzt, who had just been opening his mouth to argue against that last claim. He could not say it was an unpleasant surprise though, far from it. What Tezan had just done showed a willingness to compromise which most drow did not possess in abundance. So instead of trying to prolong this particular argument, no matter how worthy he thought it was, he decided to respond in kind for now.

“Very well”, the ranger agreed and took a slow sip of his drink to give them both time to settle down a bit.

There was a bit of an awkward moment after that when neither of them quite knew what to say next, but Tezan eventually smirked and said: “Well, I guess we are both glad to be gone from there in any case.”

To which Drizzt could only agree. That fact would have to be their common ground for now and while he was trying to firmly squash all hope for further changes in Tezan's general disposition, he could not quite manage to snuff out this small spark of “What if”. The other seemed to be willing enough to compromise after all. Maybe there was room for development?

“I think you might have a bit of an advantage over me though, when it comes to starting a new life up here”, Drizzt said. He could still remember the early days when most of his interactions with other races were fraught with the crippling uncertainty of how he would be received and what he should do or say at all. “I knew next to nothing about what awaited me here, while you seem to have at least a theoretical background. I did not even speak Common back then.”

“Not at all?” Tezan looked surprised when Drizzt shook his head. “Even Dinin knew at least a little. Enough to get by in any case and he seems to be improving quickly now that he actually has to interact with someone and rely on his skills to do it.”

“Dinin is quite adept at surviving”, Drizzt conceded. “He will do whatever is necessary.” How else would he have managed to evade death when their whole house had been obliterated. A fate which still filled Drizzt with a strange sort of slightly guilty relief, when he thought back on it, even though he was aware of course that all of his siblings and the other members of the house had made their own decisions and as such had only themselves to blame for their misfortune.

“So how did you learn then?” Tezan interrupted his uncomfortable reminiscence.

“Most of what I know today, was taught to me by a blind ranger.”

For a moment Drizzt expected Tezan to scoff at that piece of information and say something like: Blind? You really expect me to believe you could learn something worthwhile from a cripple? But instead he got a questioningly cocked head and eyes alight with rapt interest. It reassured him enough to continue his tale.


	18. A good evening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I did not expect it to take quite this long, but here is the next chapter. Hope you enjoy.

“And for all that he taught you”, Tezan said after listening intently to Drizzt's tale about his early days with the old ranger, “did he ever ask... favours from you?”

He had a one track mind sometimes and watching Drizzt move his hands so gracefully in animated gestures, while he talked about days long past did not help either. Instead it had made him wonder, if those calloused fingers would feel good on his skin. Maybe his question sprang from those wonderings, but Tezan noticed very quickly that he had displeased the other, for Drizzt frowned at him, shaking his head even before the last syllable had left his lips.

The warrior was aware that it was quite a natural question for any Drow, as there were many who on occasion had nothing else to trade than the favours of their body, so in Menzoberranzan this was in fact almost a kind of currency, though mostly between those who actually had the power to choose. Still, thinking about his friend in such a manner did not sit well with him, for he knew how the old man felt about it. In fact he knew it extremely well, because of the horrified reaction he had garnered when he had, once, very timidly asked if he should offer something like it. The sudden, hot flush of shame that the resulting look of horror had caused him was hard to forget. Even the following explanations and reconciliation had never quite managed to erase that feeling.

“No”, he said curtly. “He would never have done that. It would have been dishonourable and shameful to him.”

Tezan watched him, trying to gauge what exactly he had done wrong.

“I have offended you”, the cleric finally said. “That was not my intention.”

“Humans view these things differently”, Drizzt eventually forced himself to answer.

“You are no human.”

“But I do live among them.”

Tezan shrugged.

“Respecting their customs and feeling as they do are two different things”, he said calmly only to relent a second later: “I understand though”, he admitted. “It becomes lonely to constantly feel set apart from the ones you live with, so you tend to try and adapt at least a little bit.”

That kind of insight was something which had come only recently to Tezan, as he himself felt increasingly lonely the more time Dinin spent away from their home. He had found himself rethinking his racist stance towards other peoples enough to consider them fit for conversation at least. Not that he had found a way yet of gaining any social contact other than that...

“I was not really prepared to find out like I did”, Drizzt admitted before he could think better of it and Tezan, who could be surprisingly emphatic if he actually tried, attempted to soothe him.

“There is nothing shameful in offering compensation when it is well deserved”, he said. “It is important to keep things in balance.”

He was referring to the intricate, ever shifting game of favours that every drow in Menzoberranzan played, a game which Drizzt had grown up with as well and which was so deeply embedded in their society that it was almost unthinkable to ignore it. It could be very dangerous to let the scales tip too far away from you.

Drizzt gave a very soft sigh, aware that he should probably not be looking to Tezan for moral advice, but surprised to find his words comforting nonetheless. It was hard sometimes to make others understand when they simply had no experiences to provide a proper frame of reference. That was not made easier by the fact that he normally did not like to talk about his hometown and childhood much, because it tended to bring back unpleasant memories.

“Humans keep the balance in their own way. Differently from us.”

It felt so very strange for Drizzt to say the word us after living for long years a life in which there had only been I and them, with a distinctive line drawn by his elven features and the blackness of his skin. It was the first time in decades that he acknowledged that, while he had despised his kin enough to leave when he could, their culture was still a part of him. A part which he could not simply abandon entirely, as it had shaped him enough to still feel a sense of kinship when talking to Tezan the way he was now. It was so unusual for him to speak with somebody who would have this sort of unspoken understanding of what he meant, that for a moment he felt a sharp stab of longing. Not for Menzoberranzan herself or the people living there, but for the feeling of a common background which would make complicated explanations unnecessary.

“As you say”, the cleric acknowledged with a small bow of his head. “I have read a lot about them, but it does not really compare to having actual experience, which I am only now gaining bit by bit.” Then he shrugged with his typical lack of concern and a mischievous smile spread on his lips, half hidden for the moment behind the dark veil. “If I offered myself in return for the knowledge you have granted me”, he said red eyes glittering above the smooth, black silk, “would you take me up on it?”

“You don't seem to place much value on your favours then”, Drizzt tried to evade drily, “for I have not given you all that much.”

Tezan only laughed. He had not expected this to work after all, so there was no loss. He knew that he would have to work a lot harder to gain what he wanted. That would take time though, as he had come to understand during the course of their conversation. Still, a small hint now and then would not hurt.

“Well, then I simply will have to take some more of your wisdom, won't I?”

The expression on Drizzt's face could not be called a full out smile, but the corners of his lips certainly lifted a bit, so Tezan counted it as a small victory. It did not come unexpected though, when Drizzt announced next that he had to leave. Tezan merely nodded and let him go, certain that they would meet again. It would not benefit him to press the other now and destroy the budding sense of understanding between them.

He left the bar soon after Drizzt, feeling cautiously optimistic as he crept out the back and pulled the glamour back over his features, which made his skin appear pale and his hair dark. It was with some regret that he removed the veil from his face. Wearing it had felt liberating in a way he would have liked to explore more fully. Tezan was too pragmatic though to endanger his life for just a few flimsy feelings.

The next hour he spent aimlessly wandering the streets, thinking over what Drizzt had revealed of himself. Tezan had not missed the way the fighter had looked at him, when they had talked about balance. The moment had been very short, but he was certain, that Drizzt was, in his own way, just as lonely as he himself felt occasionally when faced with the very different culture of humans that pervaded most of the city. He could probably use that, if he was careful enough.

When Tezan looked up next, he found himself near the hospital where Daleenis' tempting little brother was probably still working. It seemed his mind had led him here without conscious thought. That might not be so bad though. He stopped a few houses away from the imposing building, unsure if he should use the opportunity to ask about the intriguing youth. He could not do anything about his attraction right now, but if he managed to convince Drizzt to release him from the cruel shackles of celibacy he might have another chance later on. If he got closer to him now, the boy might even be quite amenable to the idea... Tezan grinned with sudden inspiration. If someone like Jiqael was to ask Drizzt on his behalf to remove the spell, maybe the other would finally see how unneeded his interference really was. It would be good to have another approach, in case his current angle did not work out.

Feeling rather pleased with himself the cleric approached the hospital.

This time, when he asked about the youth he was informed, that yes, Jiqael was here and would be finishing his shift in about half an hour. Delighted Tezan told the sturdy, grey haired woman that he would be most obliged if she could tell the boy he was here to meet him once he was free. The cleric leaned his back against the hospital's walls to wait when she agreed. He was already grinning to himself with anticipation.

Jiqael was in fact even more alluring than he remembered, Tezan decided once he saw the youth coming through the great doors. Despite being tired from work he still had the spark in his light grey eyes, which had drawn Tezan to him in the first place. Somehow the fact that he knew he could not have him the way he wanted made the boy even more interesting. At least for now. He smiled at the boy as he came closer, grey eyes widening in recognition.

“Nalen!” he said surprised. “I never expected to meet you again. Have you been in the city this whole time?”

Tezan shrugged with an apologetic smile.

“Initially I had not planned to stay very long”, he lied easily, “but then things changed and I thought it would be nice to see you again, so I spend some time asking around in several hospitals. A face as beautiful as yours is hard to forget”, he grinned lightly, satisfied when Jiqael only laughed and blushed a bit in response.

“How is your sister?” the cleric asked innocently and was quite satisfied when the boy shrugged and said: “After she spent a few weeks mothering me half to death, she left again.” He gave a lopsided smile and added: “Not that the rest of my relatives is any better. I love them with all my heart, but they all seem to think I am absolutely unable to take care of myself.”

“Does that mean you cannot go with me, if I invite you out on a drink, so we can compare our first experiences in this wonderful city?”

After biting his lip in indecision for a few seconds Jiqael seemed to come to the conclusion that Tezan was harmless enough to take him up on the offer, because he finally shrugged.

“I suppose an hour or so won't hurt”, he said smiling excitedly, with a natural playfulness that left Tezan slightly breathless, although the cleric was quite sure that the effect was mostly unintentional.

“Splendid! Let's go then”, he said and pulled the other away by his hand. The skin contact sent a warning tingle through his body and he reminded himself to not think too far in this direction. As long as his touch remained innocent he knew he would have no problems though.

Tezan was not surprised to find that there was still a lot he could learn about the city. When Jiqael described the weekly cloth market in such glowing colours he almost regretted not being able to tell him about the Bazaar in Menzoberranzan. He was sure that someone like Jiqael would have found the exotic array of herbs, tools, jewellery and other things quite fascinating had he been able to walk around the stalls freely. Not that he ever would, except maybe as a collared household slave, but Tezan had come too close to being a slave himself to wish that fate on the lively, laughing boy in front of him. Living like that would probably change Jiqael beyond recognition. For a moment that thought almost made him frown, before he pushed it away with a conscious effort.

The hour they spent sitting over a mug of warm, spiced apple cider went by much too quickly in Tezan's opinion. He found that he rather liked the way Jiquael's eyes shone when the other talked about something which he had liked or which had impressed him, and so he spent most of the time asking questions designed to make the boy recount the things which he liked most about Waterdeep.

Unfortunately Jiqael had finally noticed that as well.

“Well, now I have been talking at you the whole time”, he said. “Why don't you tell me a bit of what you did during the weeks you have been here?”

Tezan shrugged. He had spent most of his time just drifting around the city using his pickpocketing skills when he saw an easy opportunity. Having achieved his initial goal of reaching the sea and having a look, he had found himself a bit aimless. He was currently adrift in a busy world occupied mostly by humans he was used to looking down on as something just slightly more valuable than vermin. So far he had put off the decision about what to do with his future, telling himself that he should first learn more about the way things were done up here. Not that Dinin seemed to be hampered by his own lack of knowledge...

“Nothing much of note”, Tezan admitted, allowing a slightly sheepish grin to creep over his face.

“Have you swindled any more humans during card games?” Jiquael prodded with a mischievous smile.

“Your sister told you that, didn't she?”

“You could show me...”

Tezan laughed, delighted by the idea.

“I could”, he agreed, “but maybe not right now. It is getting a bit late for something so involved.”

He liked having a reason which allowed him to meet the boy again, but he also did not want Jiqael's family to become suspicious and try to keep him from contacting the boy. If he delayed him here for much longer though, he probably ran the risk of doing exactly that.

Jiqael was obviously thinking.

“I promised to help my cousin with her dancing lessons tomorrow, but the day after that I will finish my shift at about the same time as I did today”, he offered.

“I will come to fetch you then”, Tezan confirmed.

That went well, he thought to himself as he watched Jiqael walk out with a last smile and a small wave of his hand. His pleasant feeling of satisfaction was soon to be interrupted though, when someone else stepped up to his table and sat down without so much as a greeting.

“Whatever do you want with that boy”, the newcomer asked as he settled himself more comfortably. “If you have plans for raping him, I think they might be a little premature. At least I would say that it is too early for you to put so much effort into it.”

His good mood evaporating Tezan only rolled his eyes. Although the person sitting next to him seemed outwardly human, after the last two sentences, tinged with a well known accent, he was quite sure who he was talking to.

“A good evening to you as well, Dinin”, he only said dryly, choosing to keep his recent plans to himself. “Did I make you wait long?” he added sweetly, sure that Dinin must have been around for some time in order to become as impatient as his answering sneer implied. Tezan wasn't quite happy with that, but there was nothing to be done about it now.

Dinin smoothed out his expression quickly, apparently more than ready to get down to business.

“I have something I think you might want to assist me with”, he said.


	19. Risk and fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tezan does what he is good at and gets himself into trouble. Dinin is not willing to help.

Unwilling to appear too impatient or nervous Tezan forced his breathing to slow and his shoulders to relax as he crouched next to Dinin on a small overhang which gave them a good view of the underground harbour of Skullport. The docks were quite busy at this time of the night and there was a vast assortment of different races milling about, loading and unloading ships. At that moment he was glad for his veil, which hid the lower half of his face so he did not have to suppress the urge to bite his lip. He knew he had good reason to be wary though and almost wished he had not let the fighter talk him into this. Smoothing down his veil, he turned to Dinin.

“They are late”, he said softly, his voice barely noticeable over the dull mesh of sounds from the harbour below.

Dinin only shrugged, seemingly unperturbed.

“It happens.”

The ship they were waiting for was one which had come from as far as the actual Underdark far deeper than Skullport. It was supposed to be loaded with all kinds of exotic wares ranging from spices to fabrics to slaves. This particular ship was also rumoured to have drugs on board. Drugs which Dinin's employer wanted to prevent from being sold, since he was busy trying to assert his control over drug trade in Waterdeep and Skullport was one of the main suppliers when it came to these particular drugs. They were supposed to steal or if that proved impossible to destroy whatever they could find. Since the promised payment was rather high, Tezan had decided to help Dinin despite the equally high risks.

The arrival of the Diamond, as the ship was named, was rather impressive, even for someone who was used to the spectacular feats of magic, which were part of everyday life in Menzoberranzan. The sheer size of the portals used to make the large cavern accessible for ships had awed even the cynical Tezan at first glance, although that feeling of awe was quickly swallowed up by restlessness as they waited for their target to dock. They would have to be very quick to get in and out again before the crew started the process of unloading the ship. The captain, a rather stocky and muscular drow woman, was already shouting orders at them, as they scrambled about the deck to manoeuvre around the other ships which were milling around the busy harbour.

Tezan watched the Diamond intently until he was certain where they would be heading.

“Let's go then”, he said and turned to Dinin who was already looking at him expectantly, the greenish glow of the fungus on the cave walls turning his normally snowy white hair to a slightly mouldy looking colour. The strange light did not cover the excited glow in his red eyes though.

As he began to whisper the teleportation spell with a speed born of practise and repeated use Tezan grasped Dinin's hand. They had been scouting the area for two days already and were prepared well enough to make further words unnecessary. As soon as they appeared below the planks of the dock Tezan had to bite his tongue to keep in a gasp as his skin met with the icy cold water of the harbour. Dinin did not look very comfortable either, but the warrior ignored the cold with admirable determination and waved Tezan over a little more to the left, where they would have better cover. Tezan followed his lead and swam behind him, already shivering with cold. He really hoped that the docking would not take too long, because he wanted full use of his dexterity to perform the needed spells to get inside the ship undetected.

Devising a portal which would let them through but still keep water out had really been the hardest part of the whole endeavour after the two drow had agreed on a plan. Tezan had coached Dinin through several long hours of drawing the necessary symbols with a stick of coal until he was satisfied that the other would be able to complete them under any possible circumstance. In order to be quick enough to enter before they ran out of air or their symbols were washed away by the water they both had to complete the small circle of runes together to save some precious seconds. As they had waited behind the broad beams of the dock Tezan had tried a small scrying into the belly of the ship to gauge how high the cargo was stacked inside. The results were encouraging, although it was hard to be completely certain when watching the picture in the ever moving waters of the harbour. He was reasonably sure though, that they would have enough space to slip in just above the crates he had just seen reflected before him.

Once the hull of the Diamond came into reach Tezan let go of the slick surface of the beam he had been clinging to and flexed his hands one last time. He nodded to his companion, drew up a tight black cowl to cover his bright hair, breathed in deeply and dove down in time with Dinin. If they misjudged the hight to which the hull should be filled with cargo they would face some serious problems. As he was dragging his piece of coal along the wooden hull of the ship Tezan felt like they would be discovered any second. He had to resist the urge to turn his head upwards to look for possible attackers.

Their judgement turned out to be accurate enough, even though the diameter of their portal was reduced a bit by a crate, they were still agile enough to wriggle through without much difficulty. The two wet drow spent a few precious seconds gasping and shivering very quietly until they turned their attention to the crates. Tezan wished that the pirates had been courteous enough to label their cargo, but he was to be disappointed in that regard. They would have to search for their target the hard way.

The first few crates Tezan broke open with fingers still a little stiff from the cold water, revealed only bolts of precious spider silk and a special species of dried mushrooms. Dinin, who had actually been shown a sample of what they were looking for was more successful by following his nose. He could detect the sharp scent of the white powder named Ziran somewhere to the left. As he waved Tezan over the volume of noise overhead became markedly louder for a moment. Both drow threw nervous glances at the ceiling of the cargo hold, tensing and ready to duck if the sounds came any closer.

-Magical detection?- Dinin questioned, his fingers fluttering hastily through the words, but Tezan could only shrug and shake his head. As far as he could tell, they had evaded detection by magical means. At least for now. That probably would not last when they teleported the crate with the Ziran though. Since they could not transport much of the drug through the water without spoiling it or being weighed down they had opted to go for a pre-prepared string of teleports despite the high risk of discovery. The more of the white powder they could recover the more money they would make, therefore Tezan had enchanted four gems, which could be fixed to the crate to take their bounty through a string of several fast teleports to different and rather hostile locations in order to throw off any pursuers.

While the pirates would still try to follow their lost wares through the complicated route the two drow would have time to reopen their own small portal and escape back to the dock. At least that was the plan.

This time Tezan drew the runes for their portal himself, before he fixed the gems to the crate. His eyes grew wide when they heard steps coming closer just as he said the last words to activate the teleport. Dinin's silent but speedy retreat towards their portal was followed quickly by Tezan, who dove through the ships hull just as the door to their part of the cargo deck was thrown open with a resounding crack. They had hoped for more time to get out, but so far they still had a chance of pulling this off, Tezan thought as he swam towards the shadow of the dock just a few feet behind his companion.

His hopes were dashed rather mercilessly when he suddenly hit an invisible but impenetrable wall a few seconds later. How had the pirates put this up so fast!? Tezan had no choice but to watch Dinin turn with a questioning gaze and then see him dive away swiftly as he himself swam along the walls edge until he could no longer continue sideways and had to come up for air.

Once his head broke through the water he was faced with a loaded crossbow, at least three wands and several jeering faces. Quite a few of them bore the dark skin of either a full or partial drow heritage. And all of them were women Tezan noted with a sinking feeling of dread as he coughed and gasped for air.

They threw him a rope, which hit his head with astounding accuracy. Tezan was almost tempted to just let himself sink down and dive until he could dive no longer. Maybe something down there would eat him and kill him quickly if he was very lucky. In the end his urge for self preservation won out though. He grasped the rope and climbed up until strong, ungentle hands grabbed his wrist and shoulders and hoisted him up onto the planks of the dock like a sack of grain.

The same hands which had hauled him up now took a secure hold of his hands and arms, two people on each side, with their fingers entwined between his own to prevent any attempt at spellcasting.

“Well then”, said the captain, “show me what we have caught.”

The cowl and veil were ripped from Tezans head, taking quite a few of his hairs with it and his head was bowed backwards with a rough grip in his hair, exposing his face and neck to the jeering crowd of sailors. He bit his lip to keep from pleading for mercy as he looked into the hard red eyes of the captain. If he was to die today he could at least try to do it with some of his dignity intact, the cleric decided and wondered if he should start praying now. His resolve faltered when he saw the leer spreading on the captains face. Oh please, no! He could already tell what was going to happen. And it was the last thing he wanted. Not with the way that would currently play out. At times like this he cursed his appearance.

“How nice. A pretty one”, she said. “Once we have had a go at him we should still be able to sell him for enough to cover whatever he managed to lay his greedy little hands on. Can't have been that much in such a short time.” She smiled a vindictive smile, which revealed white teeth filed into sharp points. “And once we find your companion I hope to see that he is just as pretty as you are boy. We might actually make a profit yet, if that should be the case.”

Her words induced a momentary mindless panic in Tezan that was strong enough actually to make him struggle against the unyielding grip of his captors. The gesture was supremely useless though. All it did was to amuse them, provide an excuse to kick him in the ribs until he was gasping in pain and drive home to him just how much this was going to hurt. The battle seasoned crew gagged and bound him without giving him a chance to attack, before they dragged him onto the ship and put him into a cabin.

As ungentle hands grabbed him to tie him down on a narrow bed, Tezan was already feeling the first sharp flashes of pain from the curse, which told him just how much these women were anticipating what was sure to follow. Apparently it did not matter how much he detested what was done to him. The spell did not differentiate between willing and unwilling betrayal of the vow he had so foolishly given to Drizzt.

Tezan hissed into the gag as he listened to one of his captors remark on how she liked her men with a bit of fight in them. As much as he tried to struggle though, he was sorely outnumbered and these were all veterans who knew better than to give him a chance of mounting a magical attack. They never removed the gag and bound his fingers so securely that he soon lost any feeling in his hands. They also stripped him of all clothes and jewellery quite thoroughly until he lay naked and defenceless at their nonexisting mercy. They left him for some time with only a single guard. Probably to draw lots to decide who might get to him first, Tezan decided bitterly as he writhed uselessly in his bonds.

As the first woman entered and sent out his guard he was surprised to find that it was not the Captain herself. Not that this one was in any way better, he thought with rising panic and helpless hatred. She was lithe but muscular enough and had her long hair bound into a single tight braid, which hung down her back. The spiteful leer on her face pushed Tezan into renewing his efforts at wriggling, but he noted quickly that it served only to amuse her to watch him flail around like a helpless worm. She made him watch as she undressed slowly. Freezing his neck and head with a few words. The ships mage then. How unusual that this occupation fell to a woman as well. It only made Tezan detest her even more.

The second her fingers made contact with his skin though, he felt the pain flare up and groaned into the gag. His obvious anguish served only to heighten her pleasure as far as Tezan could tell through the haze of agony as she climbed on top of him saying something he could not decipher though the pain. It overwhelmed even his general aversion to sex with women until only pain existed in his body and mind. It felt very much like his flesh was being shredded from his bones. Like any drow male Tezan was no stranger to the combination of sex and pain, but this was beyond anything he had ever endured. By the time she guided Tezan inside her and sunk down with a satisfied groan he was alternatively screaming and weeping for mercy, all sounds swallowed by the gag and made into incoherent moans and gurgles.

The second one came in with an eager grin, holding two slender silver knifes while his first tormentor was still dressing. At that point Tezan was almost past caring. He suspected he would not be able to differentiate between the different kinds of pain anyway. He only wanted it all to stop. If he had to die for that to happen it was fine with him, he decided spontaneously. It was better than going though this several times only to face slavery afterwards.

He did live though the second time as well, though it was very much unappreciated by him. This encounter left him with a dozen very precise cuts spaced evenly across his stomach and blood smeared across his face in carefully drawn whorls. He hated the smell of his own blood mixed with that of the excitement of his current tormentor, but some uncontrolled animal instinct for self preservation kept him from turning his head away even through the terrible agony when she held one of the knifes close to his eye. He wondered faintly why he bothered at all, but then the small knife would not be enough to kill him anyway, even if he managed to throw his head forward and impale himself.

Tezan could have wept with relief when a sudden loud thump and the clanging of weapons sounded above them on deck and made the infernal creature get off him with a speed and efficiency he had not expected, but was very much grateful for. Clearly there was a fight going on, he surmised even through the persistent fog of recent agony and lingering pain of the still bleeding cuts across his stomach. His relief lasted only as long as he needed to wonder who might be attacking the ship.

I need to get away, Tezan decided hazily and fought to regain some semblance of logical thinking as he lay there and shivered with shock in the aftermath of what he had just gone through. He wriggled and tugged on his bonds. It was to no avail. His heart almost stopped when the door opened nearly half an hour later only to reveal another drow female with long curls of silvery hair and he had still not found any success in getting himself untied. Tezan let out a very undignified panicked whine and thrashed on the bed, missing her startled look and subsequent flash of interest followed swiftly by a grimace self recrimination.

“Hush”, she tried to calm the battered and rather panicked boy. “I thought we had gotten every slave out. You are lucky I found you. I am going to untie you, but you must hold still.”

Several curses and foul expletives were spat into the gag, as Tezan watched her with deep mistrust, very much unwilling to do as he was told, but unable to move away in any case.

“We must be quick”, she added with a swift, slightly nervous look at the wooden ceiling. “I don't know how long we will be able to occupy the crew if we cannot manage to overwhelm them.”

She ignored his pointed glance towards the gag and stepped closer to inspect the binding on the hand which was closest to her. Tezan hated himself for it, but he gasped in fright as she pulled out a knife.

“Shush boy”, she said again, only succeeding in making him angry as well as frightened. “I am Thalra. Hold still now or I might cut you by accident.”

I do not care about your name Tezan wanted to shout, but had to contend himself with glaring and holding himself very still. He was unsurprised when her touch brought another brief flash of pain, before she dragged her gaze fully towards the ropes around his wrist and fingers finally disregarding his naked body.

What good would it do him to be passed from one torturer to another? He could not let this happen. He needed to get out! Now!

Tezan tried to move his fingers as soon as the rope fell away, but was very dismayed to find that he did not have enough feeling for fine gestures yet. It would come back relatively quickly, since he had not been tied up for that long, but time was of the essence. He pointed to his gag again, the movement made clumsy by his loss of coordination, but Thalra disregarded his wish as she had before and set to work on his foot next, the short skin to skin contact as her hand moved along his calf up to his ankle to steady the limb sent another painful flash through his chest. In that moment he hated her touch, even though it was the only thing that would free him right now.

This time Tezan gritted his teeth and watched her with utmost concentration so he could pinpoint the exact moment where he could move sufficiently to kick out hard. Now! He grinned viciously around the gag as he felt his heel connect to Thalra's temple. She fell like a stone with a soft gasp of surprise. Finally he could fight back! It felt so good after what he had just endured. After that short moment of elation Tezan spent another few minutes of stressed anxiety watching the crumpled form next to the bed and listening to the sounds of the fighting above as he waited impatiently for his hand to regain enough feeling before Thalra woke from unconsciousness.

Once the pain in his fingers had lessened enough that he could free himself from the gag he made short work of his bindings with a spell. His own clothes were cut to shreds thanks to the eager sailors so he had no other option than to wrap himself in the bloody, sweat soaked sheet even though the very idea made his skin crawl. Stepping out of here naked was worse though, he decided. He took two of Thalra's knifes with their sheaths, since her sword was to heavy for him to wield. Not that Tezan had any intention of staying a second longer than he had to, but the weapons made him feel slightly more secure. He only needed to get out of range of the teleportation barrier which had been erected around the ship by one of the fighting parties.

After rummaging through what was left of his clothes for his backup stick of coal he drew the symbols for another portal on the inside of the cabin, around the porthole which was too small for him to fit through. He threw a quick look to the still body next to the bed to make sure she would not wake up and spoke a stoneskin spell to protect himself from falling debris or anything else which might be flying around outside, then he tied the knifes securely around his leg and arm and stuck his head through the portal for a cautious glance.

It seemed that Tezan had been lucky for once as he was facing the dock, where he could see the fighting still in full swing. It was a group of drow fighting against the crew of the Diamond. They seemed to be matched evenly, but he did not much care for either party. Hoping nobody would notice him he dove down and tried to angle his body so as to disturb the water as little as possible. He surfaced back under the thick beams where he had set out earlier with Dinin. Just a little further... yes, there it was, the end of the barrier. Stifling a silent sob of relief Tezan swam forward and teleported away as soon as he was able. If Dinin was still around somewhere he could go hang himself.

As it turned out Dinin had not waited. He had found himself another mage to get him to Waterdeep and was already back when Tezan stepped into their squalid little flat, barefoot dripping and with that damnable, soggy sheet still wrapped around him like a particularly badly fitting, dirty skirt. For a moment Tezan considered blurting out accusations born from helpless anger, but he realized quickly that it would be useless and stupid to do so. Dinin could not have helped him against a whole crew of sailors anyway. In the end he said nothing, only nodding vaguely in answer to Dinin's greeting, before he slipped out of the sheet, into his bed and curled up in silence with his back to the fighter, too tired and exhausted to even contemplate cleaning up the still sluggishly bleeding cuts across his stomach. The slight pain they caused was nothing against what he had had to live through before.

Unsettled by the hollow gaze of his companion Dinin let him be for now. The obvious lack severity of his wounds did not quite match up with how he acted and Dinin was wary of disturbing the other, while he looked so haunted. He resolved to let Tezan lick his wounds in peace and went out to do something useful instead.

Having secured their cache of hard won goods Dinin went and told his employer where they should be collected to prevent others from finding them first. He pocketed the gold he was paid for his success and decided on a whim that he should use some of it to procure a healing potion for the cleric. It was a small gesture which might appease the other and it would not cost him too much.

Even the potion did not help with the fact that Tezan had obviously fallen into a depression, as Dinin noted three days later, when the other still failed to get out of bed or talk to him beyond one word answers. This was even worse than the moods he had had to endure when Tezan had been sulking about the binding. It was quite uncommon for drow to behave like this and it was driving Dinin up the wall. He was intelligent enough to connect the pieces and surmise what had happened even without Tezan talking about his experience, but that did not mean he knew what to do about it now.

“You need to talk to my brother”, Dinin finally said, when after almost a week Tezan still showed no inclination to recover.

Tezan's answer consisted of a short, hollow laugh, which was better than nothing, but not quite what Dinin was aiming for.

“He is supposed to be in the city during the next two days. You will go and speak to him.”

“You can go and fuck yourself”, Tezan replied turning to the wall, obviously quite unwilling to speak to anybody.

“This is ridiculous!”

Dinin was seething. He had had enough the fighter decided. This could not continue. He picked up the bucket with water he had placed next to the door shortly before and emptied it all over Tezan who jumped away with an embarrassing shriek, before he caught himself and glared at the other through dripping strands of white hair.

“Do it or I will make you!” Dinin threatened and threw some clothes at him, which Tezan caught more or less by reflex. The fighter watched like a hawk as the cleric finally began to dress with angry, jerky movements.

“Are you going to herd me to the harbour as well?” Tezan asked snidely once he was finished. His hair was still wet and clung to his head which gave him a rather pitiful appearance.

“Do you need me to?” Dinin asked placidly satisfied to see the other moving at last. “You look like drowned rat.”

“Fuck you!”

With that Tezan walked out throwing the door closed behind himself. His anger at Dinin carried him forward halfway to the harbour, but the closer he got the more his steps slowed. Talking to Drizzt would involve bringing up the sailors and although he could not manage to put them out of his mind it was the last thing he wanted to talk about. He had never before found himself honestly wishing for death over survival and the experience had shaken him badly. He finally got to the harbour, but stopped in his tracks when he actually saw Drizzt's ship. Unable to move on he wrapped both arms around himself in a helpless gesture he would have admonished himself for any other day. Now he could not quite bring himself to care. How had it come to this, he wondered bitterly. Was he really so weak that he would actively seek death?

 

 


	20. Unconsidered consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tezan explores new things

“Don't I know you?” a voice sounded from somewhere to his left interrupting his latest round of self recriminations. As he turned Tezan's gaze fell on red hair and blue eyes which were watching him inquisitively. Drizzt's woman. Why did it have to be her who found him in such a state? How he wanted to run away in that moment. It was only obstinate spite which kept Tezan standing where he was. He was not about to crumble and bow down to any women as long as he was still breathing, he decided. Especially not now.

“You do”, he said and imagined slitting her throat. It would make Drizzt suffer. Maybe not quite as terribly as he had, but still. It might be worth it to see his face. What a sweet thought. Not productive though. He would have to wait. If he did that now he would also lose all chances of ever having the bond lifted. There was always later he decided spitefully. “I need to talk to Drizzt”, he said.

“He should be on board”, she shrugged and peered at his still damp hair, the dark circles around his moss green eyes, more pronounced by the illusion of fair skin and his stooped posture. “You don't look too good.”

It took all of Tezan's self restraint to limit himself to an irritated glare in that moment. He shook his head shortly. It was not like he owed her an explanation.

“Well come on then.”

Tezan would never be quite sure later, how he managed to refrain from eviscerating the infuriating woman on the way. Not that she said anything more after realizing that his grip on his temper was possibly not all that tight, but her curiosity still showed in her persistent looks. He hated how she was trying to penetrate a shell he was only holding up with effort right now and it wore on him through the short time they needed to cross over and climb aboard the Sea Sprite. Still she brought him onto the ship and before the door of Drizzt's cabin.

I really should not be here, Tezan thought as he tried desperately to gather the frayed threads of his control. I am in no shape for this, for any kind of negotiation. He almost wanted to turn around and simply run away to hide in some dark hole. Dinin infuriating as it was to admit this, was right though in that it would not help him to do so. He could bury himself for as long as he wished and nothing would change. The only way out of this was to move forward. He would do what he must. Somehow these words provided less substance to cling to than they had in the past.

Drizzt's look of startled surprise veered quickly into wary caution when he took in Tezan's bedraggled appearance.

“What is it?” he asked carefully, slowly stepping aside to let the other move past him.

Tezan took the silent invitation, closing the door behind himself. He put a spell of silence around it despite Drizzt's alarmed gaze. It was considered rather impolite to do this in someone else's quarters, but he really did not care right now.

“You need to end the binding”, Tezan said in as measured and calm a tone as he could manage under the current circumstances, which still meant that his eyes showed a rather disturbing flicker of intensity, although he managed to keep the rest of himself under control. “Please”, he added, a bit of his true desperation shining through his voice then.

“What happened to you?”

Of course he would ask stupid questions. The answer came through gritted teeth.

“It does not concern you. You did not care about the consequences before, so why would I tell you now, just to satisfy your morbid curiosity?”

Drizzt frowned.

“What consequences?”

The smell of his own blood, mixed with sex and sweat. The feel of it drying on his skin and above all pain beyond what he could ever have imagined. Tezan shivered, took a deep breath, shook himself and wrested his mind back to the present with some difficulty.

“I need you to end it”, he said again, as concisely as possible, even though he could not prevent the clenching of his fists. “I cannot function like this.”

Again his words did not yield the desired result. Instead there were only more questions.

“What happened? What did you do?”

The last one made Tezan snap. It came unexpected even for himself, hot anger boiling up inside his chest and bubbling outwards as if someone else was using his mouth to speak.

“Nothing!” he yelled suddenly, unable to contain himself, even as lavender eyes widened in alarm at this uncharacteristic outburst. “I could do precisely nothing. The pain was too much. It crippled me. You crippled me and they enjoyed it! They...,” Tezan broke off abruptly and turned away to face the cabin wall, not wanting to expose himself, his suffering, any more, but unable to hold back beyond that. He did not really want to see the result of his embittered words. “I had never wished for death before”, he continued, voice cracking, slipping. How he despised himself for that, but if he had started this he might as well take it to its resolution. “Never”, he repeated, “but had you handed me a knife right then, I would have slit my own throat gladly.”

“What?!”

As shaken as Drizzt sounded right then, it seemed he would still persist in prying. Tezan had no more words left though. Exhausted he sank down onto the narrow cot.

“Please”, he only mumbled once more into his hands. “I have most assuredly paid thrice over for whatever you thought I might do.”

A long moment of silence followed only disturbed by the sound of their breathing. Shallow and fast in both cases.

Tezan flinched when he felt slender fingers slide along the shape of his skull. He held himself still though when he heard Drizzt mutter the words he had longed to hear spoken for so long. The words of release. The spike of triumph he felt quickly lapsed back into exhaustion. It was a hollow victory.

“It seems I must apologize. This was not something I had taken into account.”

Tezan clenched his fists to keep himself from lashing out physically. Any apology was useless, empty words and nothing more.

“I never harmed you and yet this is what you did to me. You owe me in blood”, he said tightly, staring into these strangely coloured eyes, so unlike his own. This time it was Drizzt who looked guilty. He seemed conflicted but finally looked away and gave a tiny nod. Satisfied that his claim was duly acknowledged Tezan stood and reached for the door.

“What are you going to do now?”

Another question, soft and hesitant this one.

“I suppose I shall get very drunk and try to forget I ever met you”, Tezan answered snidely, fingers clenched around the door handle. “Do not worry”, he interrupted when Drizzt stubbornly opened his mouth, probably to ask more inane, useless questions. “I am not going after him. I suppose I would not like the changes it would cause were I to use force against him.”

In fact, Tezan mused as he swiftly moved through the ship and then across the deck, it would probably be best for all of them if he never saw Jiquael again. That task should not be so hard to accomplish he thought. Waterdeep was a big city. It should be easy to avoid the boy.

He considered seeking out a pleasure house to celebrate his newly won freedom, but the mere idea of touch made him shiver with apprehension. Drinking it was then, Tezan decided and promptly set out to accomplish his new goal of getting very very drunk as fast as possible.

Several hours later Tezan was on his fifth bottle of wine, in the third tavern. He had been moving around because there was a deep seated restlessness in him, which made him unable to stay in one place for long. It was strangely contrary to the last week, where he'd had trouble to dredge up any kind of motivation for moving at all. This sudden shift should probably have concerned him, but since he was well on his way to complete inebriation Tezan could not quite muster the appropriate emotional response. He was not even sure of the name of the latest tavern he had stumbled inside. It was enough that they supplied the alcohol he asked for.

“Nalen?”

The bottle almost slipped from his fingers. It thudded loudly on the table when he set it down gracelessly. Was this the place where he had taken Jiquael for a drink?

“I was worried when you did not show up for so long, so I came here every other day after my shift to see if you had been by.”

The voice moved closer and Tezan closed his eyes, trying to pretend, at least for some precious seconds, that this was all a figment of his imagination. Surely somewhere out there fate was laughing at him. He should stick to his resolve and end this, he thought. Nothing good could come from it now. He would only slip and berate himself for it later.

“You look terrible.”

Tezan could almost see the delicate wrinkle of concern between the two elegant brows, even though he still kept his eyes stubbornly closed.

“Has something happened to you?”

Spiteful anger welled up from deep inside. What did this naïve little boy think? He had no right to question.

“Yes”, Tezan said icily, staring down at the sticky wood of his table. “Something happened. It was horrible and I am trying to forget that it ever occurred, so go away and don't remind me.”

“I am sorry.” He even sounded sincere. It only made the drow angrier. “Is there a way I can help you?”

Tezan finally stared up into grey eyes, filled with concern he did not really deserve. He found to his surprise that he wanted it nonetheless. The thought that someone honestly cared for what he was feeling was intimidating but also strangely appealing. Yes, it would definitely be better to end this quickly.

“I am drow”, Tezan simply said and then watched Jiquael bite his lip and shrug uncomfortably.

“I suspected.” Unsure what to do with this admission, which had clearly not been the expected response of outrage and hatred Tezan went back to his bottle. Apparently that made the boy want to provide an explanation. “One of my cousins has a partner who is drow. She lives in a temple in Skullport. I have only met her twice so far, but you kind of have the same accent. Although yours is relatively faint compared to hers.”

Unable to help himself, Tezan laughed.

“How ironic”, he said and offered the bottle to Jiquael who took a hesitant swallow before handing it back.

“Do you have a place to go?” the boy asked carefully. “Somewhere I could take you? You should not be alone as drunk as you appear to be right now.”

“Not anywhere I would want you to go”, Tezan said truthfully, thinking of Dinin back in their room. He had wanted to tell Jiquael to leave him be, but drink made him slow and the other spoke before he could.

“Well then, I suppose in that case you should come with me.”

It seemed that he had used up his share of resistance and anger that day, because all Tezan could muster as he let Jiquael half drag and half carry him through the streets of Waterdeep, was a faint sense of bewildered wonder and disbelief. The day had not quite turned out as he had expected. He felt as if he was trapped in some kind of surreal dream.

It was early enough that Jiquael's relatives were still at work, or so he assured Tezan as he pushed him through a cozy kitchen towards a cramped little room, which was already filled to capacity by the narrow bed someone had managed to shove inside next to a shallow shelf, which held Jiquaels belongings. There was hardly space for a single person to stand between them, let alone two.

The enforced closeness made Tezan tense involuntarily as he felt his shirt being tugged up gently. He was rather unprepared for it and only managed to force his muscles to relax after a long awkward moment, where Jiquael watched him strangely.

“I am not going to hurt you”, the boy said, concern still shining in his eyes, fingers clutching the shirt he had just pulled over Tezans's head.

“I know that”, Tezan said irritably and toed off his boots, almost stepping on them in the cramped surroundings. Now that a bed was available it was calling rather loudly to him. His earlier exhaustion came rushing back with a vengeance and he did not quite manage to care that it was situated in a household full of potentially hostile wood elves.

“Then why...?”

“I told you it was horrible, did I not?” he said curtly, letting himself drop down onto the mattress for a little more distance. “You interrupted my forgetting.”

He watched Jiquael's gaze move down to his stomach, where his skin was still marred by the slivery lines of freshly healed cuts.

“I'm sorry”, the boy stuttered uncertainly, a sentiment which evoked a cynical smile from his companion.

“Don't be”, Tezan yawned and told him with the kind of unflinching, self destructive honesty only the very drunk can manage so flawlessly: “It is not like I would not have done the same to you had I been given the chance.”

With that he turned around and promptly fell asleep, leaving behind a very unsettled Jiquael who stared down at him for several minutes before shaking his head and leaving for the kitchen to think.

***

When he woke to the light of dawn creeping in through a very narrow window Tezan was disoriented and felt very much like his head was being simultaneously hit by a hammer and wrapped into a thick layer of wool. He grabbed it with both hands and uttered a very soft groan. As he lay there the last hours slowly came back to him. He was honestly quite astonished to find a sleeping Jiquael curled into the narrow space of wooden floor next to the bed, his head resting on Tezan's boots and shirt. It would be hard to extract those without waking the boy.

“Jiquael, wake up”, he whispered, unwilling to touch the other and possibly startle him into making loud noises. So far the rest of the house seemed silent, but Tezan was sure that could change quickly. Grey eyes opened to him with an irritated, but mercifully soft groan.

“What?” Jiquael mumbled blearily.

“You're lying on my clothes”, Tezan told him with an amused grin. The sleepy face the boy was making was quite adorable he decided. What a pity that he would not get to see it again.

“I did not want to disturb you.”

Tezan looked down at him with a raised eyebrow.

“After what I told you last night I rather expected to be anywhere else but in your bed when I woke up.”

Jiquael shrugged, just as he had in the tavern. Only he looked even more uncomfortable.

“You were drunk”, he said softly. “It sounded like you were implying that you would rape me, but I decided to give you the benefit of doubt for now.”

Tezan stared at him wordlessly for quite a while.

“The benefit of doubt”, he finally said dryly. “You went to sleep next to me based on what? A rather flimsy hope that I might have misspoken?” He frowned. “I didn't.”

“You also did not touch me.” It sounded rather defiant. “It is not like you could do anything with so many people right next door.”

“You know nothing about me”, Tezan, who disagreed with that statement, reminded him as sharply as he was able while still keeping to a whisper. He was almost tempted to show the boy just how wrong he was in his assumption. “Everything I have told you might have been a lie. You do not even know my name.”

“Well it is up to you to tell me then, is it not?” Jiquael hissed back angrily, laboriously working himself into an upright position until he managed to refit himself into the narrow gap, with his knees pulled up tightly before his chest. He was still sitting on Tezan's clothes though. It was all rather vexing. “What is your name anyway, if it isn't Nalen?”

“Tezan.”

“Show me.”

Deciding to humour the boy as long as there was still a chance to get away with minimal fuss Tezan sat up and simply waved his hand which made the glamour disappear. It would be easy enough to pull it back up. He had ample practise by now. He waited passively while Jiquael looked him over with narrowed eyes. His gaze stopped at Tezan's stomach taking in the cuts again.

“Apparently you did not lie about that”, he remarked spitefully, to which Tezan answered in a wordless hiss.

“We are not going to talk about that”, he decided sharply.

“What are we going to talk about then?”

“What do you mean?” Tezan replied with a frown. “I had not expected that you would wish to talk about anything at all, to be honest. And yet here you are sitting on my clothes to stop me from leaving.”

Jiquael shrugged and suddenly seemed uncertain.

“You must have had a reason to seek me out at the hospital”, he finally said.

“Yes”, was the unabashedly sardonic reply. “I wanted to fuck you.”

It was rather gratifying to see the boy go a little pale at that blunt admission. His natural stubbornness came through though after he had had a few seconds to rally himself.

“But you did not.”

Tezan smiled. This was turning out to be more fun than he had expected. Maybe he should not be quite so fast to stop it all. Jiquael seemed to be more resilient than he had first thought.

“I could not”, he corrected blandly. “I was under a binding at the time.”

“So you chose to talk to me instead?”

“You are nice to talk to”, Tezan answered with a grin, that made Jiquael frown in turn.

“You are playing with me.”

“I suppose you are also nice to play with”, the drow suggested with an amused shrug. It was not what he had thought would happen. To expose himself so and only garner questions instead of horrified attacks was unexpectedly alluring.

“You are not... bound any longer?”

The slight uncertainty which clung to the question roused Tezan's interest despite his headache. It made his smile verge on predatory as he bowed forward until he could feel warm breath in his face.

“What do you think?” he asked silkily and gave in to the temptation to let his fingertips slide down the curve of Jiquael's jaw.

The answering shiver delighted him. As did the way a flustered Jiquael blinked at him before turning his head a little to avoid the intense red eyes. It took a while before the boy looked back up, cheeks already turning red from the closeness. He did not seem inclined to move away though, so Tezan took it as a positive sign.

“Do... would you still...”, Jiquael broke off uncertainly, suddenly appearing rather vulnerable and frightened despite his earlier forwardness.

“Rape you?”

Tezan leaned back a bit and settled himself on the bed again as Jiquael nodded wide eyed.

“You know”, he said contemplatively, “At this point I am not entirely sure if your people and mine even have the same definition for what constitutes that. So I really cannot promise without further discussion, I guess.”

“What do you mean?”

Tezan gave a long suffering sigh, wondering as he spoke, if he would not regret this. Simply taking what one wanted was just so much easier. Still he honestly liked the boy and the result might be rewarding enough to put in a bit of work. It was not like he had much else to do. After last week his taste for actual violence was currently minimal in any case. It would only evoke memories he was not quite prepared to deal with yet.

“It means that I think it would be a bad idea to have sex with you unless you actively ask me for it and take the first step. You will also need to tell me very clearly when to stop. If you expect me to simply see some unspoken sign I might misinterpret what you are trying to tell me.” He watched Jiquael closely as he spoke, but could not see any signs of serious protest. “Assuming you are actually interested of course”, he added to make sure.

“I think, given enough time, I would be quite... amenable.” Jiquael shook his head, looking bewildered. “This is the strangest conversation I have ever had.” He bit his lip. “You can be a bit frightening at times, when you are not pretending.”

Tezan stifled his laugh. In most other people he would have taken an admission like that as an invitation to exploit, but with this boy he was leaning more towards being fascinated. Jiquael surprised him at times and he found he liked finding hidden depths in the boy. The intellectual challenge of exploring a new culture first hand also appealed to Tezan's more academic side.

“It is fun to see you so flustered”, he admitted and seeing the dawning consternation in Jiquael's eyes, went on: “It is also fun to watch you talk about something you like. I have never met anyone who managed to be so honestly delighted by the most trivial things. It is rather fascinating. Most other people I know are only impressed by power or bloodshed.”

The last sentences made Jiquael blush again, something which in turn delighted Tezan.

“Would you like to come up?”

“You are going to touch me if I do, are you not?”

Tezan grinned and shrugged unrepentantly. He was ironically somewhat relieved to see the wariness Jiquael displayed towards him now. He had feared that the boy had no common sense at all after he had disregarded Tezan's earlier comments to sleep beside him.

“I think you might actually like that”, he said coaxingly, trying to contain his dirty grin in order to appear less intimidating. “Remember, you can always tell me to stop.”

“That goes for you too, you know”, Jiquael said in a moment of insight, thinking of Tezan's tense reaction when he had taken off his shirt the night before.

Tezan blinked, thrown for a few seconds, as he considered this rather unfamiliar concept. He found himself unsure about it. Asking Jiquael to stop for any reason would mean exposing a potential weakness, something he had learned to avoid at all costs. So far Jiquael had been behaving in a fashion as to appear relatively trustworthy, but was that enough to confide in him?

“I had not even thought about that”, Tezan muttered with a small frown, as he watched the boy climb up on the bed.

“But you will?” Jiquael asked seriously. “I don't want to make you uncomfortable.”

“I will... try”, Tezan conceded, thinking that at least this was not a complete lie, before he found his attention fully occupied, when Jiquael reached out to carefully slide slender fingers through the white hair. It felt nice to be stroked so tenderly and he leaned into the soft touch with an appreciative purr that made the boy smile. It had been much too long since the last time someone had touched him like this, with respect, care and no pain. While Tezan was generally not opposed to some rougher play he did prefer things like this at the moment. There was no need to rush.

As he slipped his fingers under Jiquaels shirt to map out hidden stretches of pale skin, he wondered fleetingly whether Dinin had convinced himself by now, that bedding a human woman was acceptable behaviour. He discarded the thought quickly though in favour of more interesting explorations.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I have made it harder for Tezan? Not quite sure, but I suppose I have put him through enough at this point.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life goes on and comes up with some surprisingly uncomfortable revelations.

Dinin had in fact been busy doing other things, as Tezan discovered after he had quietly slipped out of Jiquael's narrow window to avoid the boy's relatives. He had apparently managed to convince their landlady to rent him a second room in the house. Since Tezan could dimly remember an old half-orc living there before, he wondered idly if Dinin had actually bought the smelly creature out or if the fighter had resorted to killing to achieve this.

Dinin, who looked human himself, was currently directing two sweating humans who were carrying his bed through the narrow corridor towards his new room.

“Should I be hurt?” Tezan quipped, leaning casually against the chipped wall. “You never even told me you were moving out.”

“I decided it would be better for my peace of mind to sleep in my own room once you finally managed to wriggle out of this bond”, Dinin replied blandly and gifted the other with a long measuring look. “And I think you were successful, so it appears my planning was sound.”

“Oh please”, the cleric complained, irritated both by being outthought by Dinin yet again and by the fact that in his opinion the fighter was blowing the one time occurrence out of proportion. “It was really not that bad. You know very well, that I could have demanded a lot more than I did. Besides”, he continued morosely, “you managed to make the whole experience so unappealing that I would not have tried a second time anyway.”

“So you say”, Dinin replied doubtfully, before he tilted his head for another probing look. “You were successful though, were you not?”

Tezan rolled his eyes.

“Yes”, he snapped, vexed at the repeated reminder of his pitiful breakdown in Drizzt's cabin. “And since I celebrated this rousing success by getting as drunk as physically possible I have terrible headache now, so you will have to excuse me.”

He felt Dinin's gaze at his back when he threw the door shut behind himself. Trust the dour bastard to crush his good mood with only a few sentences, Tezan thought sulkily as he undressed and slipped back into his own bed to catch up on some much needed sleep.

Once he woke up again he spent quite some time simply laying on his back, staring at the flaking ceiling, thinking. In that way having the room to himself was actually better. At least his introspective attitude would not raise questions with Dinin now.

Tezan was not stupid. He had noticed the close relationship Jiquael had with his relatives. The way he talked about them indicated a level of trust that he had never experienced with anyone himself and found rather bewildering. It was clear though, that the boy would want to talk to them about their relationship sooner or later. It also meant that it would quite probably come to a meeting between him and them if he decided to continue this strange little tryst. He could not decide if this was something he actually wanted to happen.

On one hand he was intensely curious about this other way of life, so obviously different from anything he had ever known and wanted a chance to observe and understand it better, on the other hand he was also extremely wary of exposing himself to a bunch of people he did not know and who were potentially hostile towards him as long as he had only himself to rely on for protection. Taking Dinin anywhere close to Jiquael's family was out of the question. The fighter was too aggressive in his attitude towards the other elven peoples. His presence was more likely to start a fight than prevent it, as he lacked the basic interest and want for academic knowledge which made Tezan consider the whole thing in the first place.

A paid mercenary was too unreliable and would probably be considered rude if he was expected to make a show of trust. He needed someone capable he could rely on to watch his back, but remain unobtrusive. Well, he did know someone who was very skilled in fighting and who owed him now... Tezan sighed. He really did not want to meet with Drizzt again. He could still feel his face growing hot with embarrassment each time he remembered his pitiful performance during their last encounter. It might have been necessary to achieve his goal, but he still shuddered at the reminder of how much he had exposed himself. On the other hand Drizzt was probably his best option. At least he could probably be trusted to remain calm, polite and not talk too much. Maybe the ranger would even welcome the opportunity.

Tezan would have to wait and see. For now he could work on putting the decision off. He would not be able delay it forever, but he should manage to buy himself a few weeks at least. And while that lasted... Tezan grinned and stretched leisurely as he thought about soft, pale skin under his fingertips. It made such a nice contrast against his own and Jiquael, while clearly not being as experienced as most of his other partners, had shown moments of decisiveness which Tezan thought of as rather promising. Along with his playful nature it made him quite an attractive partner.

As he thought back on how the whole night had gone though Tezan actually cringed when he remembered just how much he had blithely disregarded the danger inherent in sleeping at Jiquael's home. True, he had been out of his mind with alcohol and emotional as well as physical exhaustion, but he was aware that he should never have let himself end up in such a vulnerable position. Had Jiquael reacted differently to his unwise confession he could be quite dead by now or at least incarcerated somewhere very unpleasant. At that point he had not really cared, but right now he did and his own actions worried him deeply, because they were not conductive to survival. While he was prone to indulge in a certain recklessness from time to time, this blatant disregard for personal safety went well beyond his usual scope.

Had his experience with the Diamond's crew damaged him so much, that he subconsciously still wanted to die? The very idea was so uncomfortable and upsetting to him that Tezan immediately shied away from even thinking about it. Those who lost the will to fight for survival typically died very quickly in Menzoberranzan.

Once he had cleaned up a bit Tezan decided that it was time for something to eat. Something nice. He deserved that after all he had had to go through. He even managed to drag Dinin along by promising to cover his meal as well. Even though the other could have afforded it himself by now. He was earning well, judging by the quality of his new clothes. The fighter looked remarkably comfortable surrounded by the expensive silverware and exotic decorations of the place Tezan had chosen. They even had pristine white table cloths and small, tasteful bouquets of fresh flowers adorning each individual table. But then Dinin had been a noble of a high ranking family, so maybe it was actually a common occurrence for him to dine like this. Or at least it had been.

Tezan eyed his companion who had chosen to put on an unusually attractive human face this day. Dinin currently appeared to have short dark brown hair, trimmed neatly into a small, well defined beard. His eyes had a similar green to Tezan's own and complemented the tanned skin nicely. His yawline was stronger than normal, but that was mostly because, as an elf Dinin's own facial structure was just more delicate in general.

“Do you have plans for later?” the cleric wondered aloud.

Dinin inclined his head and looked at him over a fork full of tenderly steamed greens.

“When you say plans, you mean what exactly?” he asked warily making Tezan break out into a teasing grin.

“Sex? Humans looking better yet?”

Dinin looked torn between pain and exasperation for a moment.

“You are clearly back to normal, if that is all you can think about”, he only said in the end.

Tezan shrugged, quite unperturbed by the beginning irritation of his companion. Dinin was, as usual, taking his words much too serious.

“You usually choose to look more average”, he explained patiently. “Are you going to impress someone?”

“I'm going to work”, was all Dinin chose to reply to that, but the excited glitter in his eyes made Tezan believe that there was indeed something more to this job.

“Well, if you feel the need to share details afterwards, you know where to find me”, he said smiling crookedly. “You only look this interested when there is blood involved, so I expect a good story.”

When Dinin merely laughed at that Tezan thought, that the other actually seemed to be the most comfortable and relaxed he had appeared in a long time, not careless, but without the pronounced tension and twitchiness he had carried around for months even after regaining his original shape. As if he expected some priestess to show up out of nowhere and condemn him once again. In fact it looked like Dinin was actively settling into place in this new reality he had opposed so fervently at first. Of course Tezan could not let that slide without prodding curiously.

“At least you finally seem to enjoy the relative freedom we have here”, he ventured, trying to gauge Dinin's reaction.

“Freedom alone means nothing without a purpose”, the fighter replied and gave Tezan a rather dissecting look. “And I am not sure that you have found yours yet.”

Suddenly feeling unexpectedly and uncomfortably exposed by only a few well chosen words Tezan shrugged silently in a very unconvincing show of unconcern and took up one of the delicate dessert forks to twirl around restless fingers. It was essentially an admission that Dinin was right and that irritated him. Yes, he was admittedly still drifting, restless and not willing to commit to anything, because it would mean tying himself down. He simply could not bear that after living under such restricted circumstances for so long in his hometown. At the same time he was definitely looking for something though, even if he was still unable to define what it was. It frustrated him, that he had been managed to decide his next steps after all this time already spent in Waterdeep.

“And you have?” Tezan questioned to deflect attention away from himself.

“For now”, Dinin shrugged complacently and looked so settled doing it that Tezan wanted to grit his teeth watching the gesture. Somehow Dinin had gone from being utterly lost to integrating himself almost seamlessly and he had been too preoccupied with his own petty woes to notice. The realization that he had somehow missed this major shift left him quite unsettled. Such sloppy inattention could be very dangerous. Especially when dealing with someone as sharp as Dinin. Suddenly Tezan felt glad that he had never outright forced himself on the other. He suspected that to give Dinin a real, substantial reason for wanting revenge on him would otherwise have backfired quite spectacularly by now.

“And what exactly is this lofty purpose you have found in your life, if I may ask?”

“Well, power of course”, the other said with a slow, cruel smile, that did not quite fit his human guise. “What else would be worth the effort?”

Tezan, who had always been more philosophically minded could relate but did not quite agree.

“And once you have it?” he asked with a thoughtfulness he did not usually display very often, because it mostly made him feel old, tired and maudlin. “Will it ever be enough?” He waved his hand in an aimless fashion, while Dinin watched out of hard eyes. “Power alone, while nice to have is just as useless as freedom without direction”, Tezan insisted stubbornly.

“You should know all about that then”, Dinin said snidely. “I certainly appreciate the power to remove myself from your wandering hands”, he added just to be difficult, which earned him a narrow eyed look from Tezan.

“What will it take for you to stop bringing that up at every possible opportunity?” he grumbled darkly.

“Oh, I don't know”, Dinin said lightly, idly sliding a finger along the edge of the blunt knife lying before him on the table, the gesture possibly not a conscious one, because he was not even looking down at it, not quite a threat, but still a display hinting at possible violence. “Maybe if you beg very prettily, I might find myself impressed enough to shut up?”

To which Tezan only answered with a disgusted sigh. It seemed he would have to find a way to make amends after all. Or find a way to neutralize the threat a vengeful Dinin posed for him, which would essentially mean to dispose of him permanently. He was not quite prepared to do that at this point. If Dinin was gone Tezan would be without likeminded company. It was probably the same reason why Dinin himself had apparently decided to hold back so far, even though his deceptively uncaring but frequent reminders indicated that he still felt resentment over the matter. Not enough to act against his own interest, but too much to brush it all off and move on.

All in all the meal did not quite measure up to Tezan's expectations. Not so much because the food was prepared badly or the service dissatisfying, but more because he left with a feeling of disquiet he would rather not have had. Dinin's perceptive words had reminded him of his lack of purpose and it made him feel inadequate that he had no idea what to do next. His already bad mood plummeted further into unforeseen depths when he came home to find Drizzt Do'Urden leaning against the wall next to his door, obviously waiting for him. He should never have let the other know where he lived. What could he possibly want anyway?

For a second Tezan considered simply ignoring the second Do'Urden brother, but he could already tell by the determined set of the other's shoulders, that he would not get out of talking to him indefinitely. The whole family was impossibly, aggravatingly stubborn, he decided. Better to get it done with quickly then.

“Are you not supposed to have set sail already?” he inquired, using a tone which made it clear that he would have much preferred that turn of events.

Drizzt shrugged, his normally unmoved bearing betraying a hint of nervousness.

“In a few hours”, he said, seeming a bit distracted by the reminder, before he dragged his attention back to the present. “I did not want to leave without having talked to you beforehand.”

Tezan made no move to open the door and instead only stood there with his arms crossed in front of his chest. He did not want Drizzt in his room and did not care if he was being rude.

“Fine”, he said in a tight, clipped voice, which did nothing to hide his irritation. “Talk.”

Instead of doing that Drizzt merely sighed and said nothing for a moment, looking torn.

“I did not want to go and be away for so long without having apologized. I am sorry.”

The lightforsaken bastard actually managed to sound honestly contrite Tezan mused as he seethed inwardly at the sheer uselessness of this whole endeavour. He wanted to blurt out how he had imagined killing the red headed woman, anything if it held the potential of hurting Drizzt even a little, but caught himself before he could do something to monumentally stupid. In such close quarters he was at a significant disadvantage against a trained fighter. It would do him no good to provoke the other into an attack. In that moment it was hard to hold back though.

“Very well, you have apologized”, he hissed lowly, not caring if his voice betrayed how angry he felt. “Good for you. I hope you feel better now.”

Unable to bear Drizzt's proximity any longer without succumbing to the overwhelming need to lash out in earnest he turned and swiftly began to walk away. Tezan was half relieved and half disappointed when he did not hear footsteps following him. He would have welcomed an outlet for the overwhelming flood of sentiment bubbling restlessly inside his chest, but he was only too conscious of the fact that engaging Drizzt in a fight would not be a good idea. Where was he to go now though? He had planned on spending the evening in his room in meditation and prayer, trying to find some peace or at least direction within his own mind. But it seemed that this avenue was closed to him now.

As he had so often during the last months, Tezan once again found himself drifting along the streets of Waterdeep, without any clear plan on where to go. He had briefly considered going to see what Jiquael was doing, but decided that in his current mood he would probably end up scaring the boy so much, that it would only upset them both. So he remained walking a meandering path along dirty cobblestone. And as it inevitably happened at some point he found himself entering a tavern after some hours of aimless drifting. This time he made sure it was not one he had visited with Jiquael before.

The clientele looked disappointingly boring, but Tezan had had enough of walking and decided to stay for a drink anyway. Only one. He was still feeling some of the lingering effects of his overindulgence from last night. As he settled himself at a small, rickety table in a nice dark corner, from where he could still see the door Tezan let his gaze slide over the milling crowd again, trying to decide if it would be worth the time and effort to attempt stealing from any of them. Most of those assembled looked as if they would be more likely to try and steal from him though, so Tezan resigned himself to spending a rather boring hour here before he would move on.

For the most part he was right in his expectations. He did perk up a bit though when a tall, rather striking Moon elf with intense amber coloured eyes entered the establishment. It was quite disappointing when Tezan had to watch the single interesting person he had glimpsed tonight vanish into some closed off back office after crossing straight through the main room with only a few determined strides.

Since his drink was finished anyway Tezan pushed the empty mug away and ambled up to the bar. And since he was already here, why not satisfy his idle curiosity?

“The elf who just walked through here a few minutes ago”, he asked of the two ageing women behind the bar once he finally managed to gain her attention, “Is he by any chance the owner of this fine establishment?”

It seemed as good a guess as any, since the other had exuded a definite air of cold efficiency and purpose as he had walked by. If he was wrong he supposed he would find out soon enough.

“Why do you want to know?”

The glimmer of suspicion in the eyes of the woman surprised Tezan, because he had not thought his question especially intrusive, but he acted unaffected and merely gave a languid shrug.

“I'm a wizard and looking for work”, he lied easily, saying the first thing that came into his mind and gave her a soulful look of hopeful expectation, “so I thought it might be an opportunity.”

He smiled as the suspicion vanished and he received a nod from her.

“If he stops by the bar before he leaves, I'll send him your way”, she promised with a conspiratorial grin. “Another drink while you wait?”

Amused despite essentially being blackmailed into buying another drink Tezan merely nodded back and went back to his table to wait with it. His night had just gotten unexpectedly exciting. Not by much true, but he was desperate for any distraction right now so it would have to suffice. While he waited he occupied himself by slyly drawing some runes on the underside of the tabletop. Whoever would be unfortunate enough to touch them in the future would earn himself a painful little energy shock. Nothing truly harmful, but painful enough to make the idea of it amusing to Tezan.

He was not prepared to be gripped by his arm and throat from behind only a little later and be swiftly dragged backwards through the suddenly insubstantial wall at his back.

Even as he was trying to regain his bearings Tezan immediately began to twist sharply in the brutal grip on his body, to prevent it from getting any more secure. He let his dagger slip into his unrestrained hand and stabbed at whoever was trying to hold onto him, only to have his blade glance off the skin. Whoever was attacking him had obviously had the foresight to use a stoneskin enchantment beforehand. Luckily he had not been idle with his mouth either and had already started mumbling a quick spell himself, which sent a shockwave out from his body. One a bit more forceful than the little trap he had left under the table.

Someone cursed behind Tezan as he quickly rolled away once the spell had taken effect and dislodged the body that was attached to the grabbing hands. As he came up into a crouch with the dagger and an additional wand in his hands he could see that he was facing the enigmatic elf from before, who looked quite incensed at being thwarted in his surprising attack.

The other had a vicious sneer on his face as he dropped a small black crystal and promptly stomped on it so that it shattered. Tezan only noted the effect of this indirect move when he subsequently saw the magical lights wink out, leaving the room illuminated only by a single candle. He also noted that his skin had turned back to its normal dark hue, indicating that his illusion had been dispelled. The sudden lack of light did not bother him, but the fact that he had just effectively been trapped in a small confining area inside an anti magic field with an unknown foe was decidedly annoying. Crystals like that were neither common nor cheap and this one had just robbed him of most of his favourite attacks. Apparently this Moon elf had invested quite a lot of money in his defences. It was far too much for being used so spontaneously by the owner of one measly tavern Tezan decided uneasily.

“Whatever do you think you're doing?” he hissed at his attacker, while he swiftly exchanged the wand for another dagger.

The other had basically done the same. Two blades were gleaming in his hands as he slowly advanced with a the same sneer still in place. Tezan, who could easily detect the practiced ease and fluidity with which his opponent moved was getting more apprehensive by the second. This was clearly a trained fighter. While he had no trouble against most humans the drow was immediately concerned that he might be out of his league in this case, at least as long as he had no way to cast a spell. He retreated several steps, as far as the walls allowed and started looking for a way out. It seemed like the wall through which he had tumbled in was sealed though.

“Did you think I would not check, drow?”

The tone bordered on caustic and Tezan was beginning to understand, that maybe he had been a bit rash in inviting attention from this particular individual.

“Did you really expect it to be so easy to slip past my defences?”

“Whatever you think I was doing”, he said, hastily dodging a determined swipe by on of the gleaming daggers. “It is not what it looks like. I don't even know your name!” Where was the damn exit, Tezan wondered as he blocked and feinted, narrowly avoiding being gutted on the spot, before he managed to twist away again to retreat to a safer distance.

“You prefer magic, don't you?” There was a decidedly cruel smile on the thin lips of his opponent now, one which would have not looked out of place in a black skinned face Tezan thought, while he was frantically trying to figure out who he was currently fighting. “I'm afraid using one of your little tricks will not be possible right now.”

“Who the fuck are you!?”

“Oh”, cooed his attacker with coldly condescending mirth, obviously not very interested in making any attempt to resolve this matter by less violent means. “They sent you without even telling you what you would face?”

“No one sent me!” Tezan snarled back, growing increasingly frustrated the more he was coming to the realization that he was probably going to loose this confrontation. Between them the other was simply the better fighter. That had become clear to him after only a few attacks. It was only a question of time. He needed to find a way to talk himself out of this ridiculous situation. “I was only... vith!”

Tezan was interrupted mid sentence as he had to twist his upper body sideways in a desperate attempt to evade the blade which had just been thrown in his direction. He managed to get away with a shallow graze, but the move sent him off balance for long enough that the taller Moon elf took the opportunity to pounce and tackle him bodily. He went down kicking and cursing, but eventually found himself pressed facedown on a soft carpet with a very heavy Moon elf on top of him, a sharp blade against his throat and his arms viciously twisted behind his back until he felt they were close to either breaking or dislocating.

“And now”, the other said with cold satisfaction, “we begin again. Who sent you and why are you here? I would advise you to answer truthfully this time.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now who could this mysterious attacker be? I don't think it is that hard to guess, but I might be wrong.


End file.
